Method and system for providing non-real-time content distribution services

ABSTRACT

A system and method of operating an over-the-air broadcast television system having spectrum capacity that has a first portion for linear broadcasting content in real time and a second portion corresponding to a dormant capacity. A content distribution network system receives digital content from a content storage system. A dormant capacity estimator estimates dormant capacity of the spectrum capacity. An intermediate storage device communicates a registration request signal to the content distribution network system using a reverse link. The content distribution network system communicates a registration acknowledgement signal to the intermediate storage device. The content distribution network system communicates the digital content to the intermediate storage device through the over-the-air broadcast television network system. The intermediate storage device stories the digital content therein. The content distribution network system communicates the digital content to a user device through a local link after storing the digital content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/095,686, filed Nov. 11, 2020, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/588,763 filed on Sep. 30, 2019 (now U.S. Pat.No. 10,433,022), which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 15/811,958, filed on Nov. 14, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,433,022), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 62/422,247, filed on Nov. 15, 2016. The entire disclosures of theabove applications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to video distribution systemsand, more specifically, to a method and system providing prepositionedcontent to users, where such prepositioning improves the overallavailability of certain services and total performance of any wide areanetwork.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

In many regions, internet service underperforms relative to the amountof content consumption that is desired. That is, many areas of thecountry and around the world do not have sufficient high-speed internetaccess. For example, wireless, dial-up, DSL, or satellite services areexamples of services that may not provide adequate speed or economicalcapacity to support the downloading of high quality of video content orother large forms of data in a timely or economic manner. However,over-the-top (OTT) video services are becoming increasingly commonplacein the United States market and globally, rapidly not only offering anattractive alternative to traditional cable bundles but beginning toreplace “Pay TV” altogether. However, many consumers across the U.S. andglobally, whether in urban areas or in rural areas, either desire toadopt a competitive service to a cable bundle to reduce cost or to gainaccess to additional features (as in the case of mobility andportability as with wireless services) or to enhance their existingslower speed or lower capacity services to support a viable over-the-topvideo or data intensive service. Enabling these slower speed or lowercapacity services to support high quality OTT video and data delivery isdesirable.

A large number of people are dropping traditional cable televisionservice in favor of over-the-top services. This contributes to thevolume of data used to watch videos. Nearly half of the approximately125,000,000 households in the United States now subscribe to at leastone video streaming service. By one estimate, the amount of trafficattributable to the most popular video services such as Netflix®, AmazonPrime Video® and iTunes® together account for more than 40% of all peakinternet traffic in the U.S. Another 18% is attributable to YouTube®.Ultra-high definition (UHD) content is also beginning to appear on themarket. Thus, the increase in internet traffic is expected to grow forthe foreseeable future. For Netflix® service, a 5 Mbps is recommendedfor HD content. However, for ultra-high definition content, a 25 Mbpsconnection is recommended. Ultra-high definition streams may consume upto 7 GByte per hour.

Today, it is estimated that 20,000,000 Americans lack access to 10 Mbps+service, and that number grows to roughly 1.6 billion global households.Their options range satellite broadband and long-loop DSL connectionsfor those that can afford it, or a mobile broadband only solution totheir smartphones across many of the other parts of the world where evensatellite or DSL broadband is unaffordable. Same time, a rapidly growingtrend in lower income households, and even more so in the cord-cuttingfocused youth segments of the population, is using as mobile service asa preferred means to access video data, while shedding the moreexpensive fixed wired broadband.

However, satellite or long-loop DSL services are typically unsuitablefor supporting sufficient quality over-the-top OTT video-on-demand (VoD)services due to their limited levels of network performance because 10Mbps+ is typically required for high quality OTT VoD. Similarly,accessing video content on TVs in the homes using wireless networks, oreven the other alternatives, is limited by data caps and the per GBpricing models of each of the service providers. Because of the highdata intensity of a video service, data caps can be easily surpassed andcosts can skyrocket from use of extra GBs. For instance, only a few HDmovies may cause a family to exceed its mobile broadband data cap.

Other data services are also highly intensive in the use of data. Forexample, software updates and internet of things (IoT) devices may alsoconsume a large amount of data that are also desired by underservedusers.

Broadcast television is also known as over-the-air television. Broadcasttelevision may also be referred to as terrestrial television. Broadcasttelevision has been around for decades and has experienced many changesover the years. From black and white television, to color television todigital television. The current Advanced Television System Committee(ATSC) 1.0 is currently used for broadcasting over-the-air digitaltelevision. The broadcast of digital television is linear in that thecontent is communicated in a well-defined pre-announced schedule. Localtelevision stations are allocated a predetermined amount of over-the-airspectrum capacity. The over-the-air broadcast spectrum capacity is usedfor communicating linear content therethrough. The broadcast spectrumcapacity used by a broadcast television network system is used forbroadcasting a primary channel and typically several sub channels.Unused spectrum for an allocated amount of spectrum capacity liesdormant. This unused capacity is referred to dormant capacity.

The next generation of over-the-air broadcasting is set forth in theATSC 3.0 standard. The standard enables the use of broadcast spectrumcapacity for new and innovative services by the license holders. Leasingunused spectrum to third parties is also enabled. The new servicesextend beyond the traditional linear broadcast services. Such servicesmay include internet services, such as broadband data, contentdistribution and the Internet of Things.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a method for delivering content to userdevices through an intermediate storage device that is pre-populatedwith content using low cost capacity, underused capacity or remnantcapacity of a communication network.

In one aspect of the disclosure, an over-the-air broadcast televisionsystem has spectrum capacity that has a first portion for linearbroadcasting content in real time and a second portion corresponding toa dormant capacity. A content distribution network system receivesdigital content from a content storage system. A dormant capacityestimator estimates dormant capacity of the spectrum capacity. Anintermediate storage device communicates a registration request signalto the content distribution network system using a reverse link. Thecontent distribution network system communicates a registrationacknowledgement signal to the intermediate storage device using thedormant capacity. The content distribution network system communicatesthe digital content to the intermediate storage device through theover-the-air broadcast television network system. The intermediatestorage device stores the digital content therein. The contentdistribution network system communicates the digital content to a userdevice through a local link after storing the digital content.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a method of operating anover-the-air broadcast television network system comprising anover-the-air spectrum capacity, the over-the-air spectrum capacitycomprising a first portion for linear over-the-air broadcasting contentin real time and a second portion corresponding to a dormant capacity.The method includes receiving digital content at a content distributionnetwork system from a content storage system, estimating dormantcapacity of the over-the-air spectrum capacity from a dormant capacityestimator in communication with the over-the-air broadcast televisionnetwork system, communicating, by an intermediate storage device, aregistration request signal to the content distribution network systemusing a reverse link of a communication network different than theover-the-air broadcast television network system, communicating, by thecontent distribution network system, a registration acknowledgementsignal to the intermediate storage device in response to theregistration request signal system, communicating, by the contentdistribution network system, the digital content to the intermediatestorage device through the over-the-air broadcast television networksystem, storing the digital content in the intermediate storage device,and communicating, the content distribution network system, the digitalcontent to a user device through a local link after storing the digitalcontent.

The disclosed method uses dormant or remnant capacity of a televisionsystem, that is not otherwise being used to broadcast linear content tocommunicate content to an intermediate storage device to store thecontent in content storage, and communicate the content from the contentstorage to the user device at some other point in time using some othercommunication system such as a local communication link.

The present invention also concerns the following characteristics to becombined with claim 1 and with one or several of the othercharacteristics wherein the content distribution network system, priorto communicating the digital content to the intermediate storage device,communicates an instruction signal to the intermediate storage devicecomprising instruction data for downloading the digital content or aportion of the digital content; wherein the intermediate storage devicecommunicates a delivery request signal to the content distributionnetwork system through the reverse link based on the instruction data;wherein the instruction data is for a unicast transmission or abroadcast transmission and the instruction data comprises a targetthroughput for downloading the digital content based on the dormantcapacity, the spectral efficiency and a location for the digitalcontent; wherein the intermediate storage device communicates a radioquality condition signal using the reverse link corresponding to aquality of communication signals received from the televisionover-the-air network, the target throughput is a function of the radioquality condition signal and an amount of dormant capacity available;wherein the intermediate storage device communicates user data to thecontent distribution network system through the reverse link and whereinthe content distribution network system generates the instruction signalin response to the user data; wherein the user data comprises a userpreference; wherein the user data comprises a watch list; wherein afterthe digital content is stored the intermediate storage devicecommunicates a second acknowledgement signal to the content distributionnetwork system using the reverse link; wherein the second acknowledgmentsignal comprises feedback data corresponding the content distributionnetwork system communicating content to the to the intermediate storagedevice; wherein the feedback data comprises a volume of data received;wherein the feedback data comprises a download duration of a downloadreceived at the intermediate storage device; wherein the feedback datacomprises an achieved throughput; wherein the feedback data is used bythe content distribution network system in a subsequent communication;wherein the local link comprises a local area network; wherein thecontent distribution network system communicates the digital content tothe intermediate storage device with a unicast delivery; wherein thecontent distribution network system communicates the digital content toa plurality of intermediate storage devices with a broadcast delivery;wherein the content distribution network system determines whether thebroadcast delivery is used based on at least one of: the plurality ofintermediate storage devices in an area, a content commonality ofinterest at the plurality of intermediate storage devices and radioconditions at the plurality of intermediate storage devices; wherein,prior to the content distribution network system communicating thedigital content to the intermediate storage device, the contentdistribution system communicating a session establishment signal throughthe broadcast network system to a plurality of intermediate storagedevices; wherein the session establishment signal comprises requiredthroughput data; wherein the broadcast television network systemallocates broadcast resources based on the session establishment signal;wherein the content distribution network system broadcasts the digitalcontent through the broadcast television network system to the pluralityof intermediate storage devices and wherein the plurality ofintermediate storage devices stores the digital content therein; whereineach of the plurality of intermediate storage devices communicating asecond acknowledgement signal after the digital content is storedtherein; and, wherein the registration acknowledgement signal iscommunicated to the intermediate storage device in response to theregistration request signal using the dormant capacity of theover-the-air broadcast television network system.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. It should be understood that the description andspecific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

FIG. 1 is a high level block diagrammatic view of a first example of acommunication system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagrammatic view of a more detailed communicationsystem of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagrammatic view of a plurality of user devices in alocal area network.

FIG. 4 is a high level block diagrammatic view of a communication systemusing an LTE wireless network.

FIG. 5 is a block diagrammatic view of a remnant capacity communicationsystem using a satellite.

FIG. 6 is a block diagrammatic view of a satellite ground station usedin FIG. 5 .

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for communicating content to anintermediate device using remnant capacity.

FIG. 8A is a block diagrammatic view of the outdoor unit of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 8B is a block diagrammatic view of the intermediate device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method for redirecting requests from the userdevice to the intermediate device.

FIG. 10 is a block diagrammatic view of a non-real-time content deliverysystem.

FIG. 11 is a block diagrammatic view of a satellite implementation of anon-real-time content delivery system.

FIG. 12 is a view of three satellite ground traces used for the contentdelivery system.

FIG. 13 is an example of a ground trace having various parametersassociated therewith.

FIG. 14A is an elevation angle vs. time plot for four cites; Seattle,San Diego, Portland and Miami.

FIG. 14B is an elevation vs. time plot for further reaches of thecontent delivery system; Hawaii, Anchorage, Ak., Fairbanks, Ak. andPuerto Rico.

FIG. 15 is a block diagrammatic view of a cell control module.

FIG. 16 is a block diagrammatic view of a dongle according to thepresent system.

FIG. 17 is a block diagrammatic view of a carousel and controller forthe carousel.

FIG. 18 is flowchart of a method of broadcasting content from acarousel.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a method for communicating content throughintermediate devices using remnant capacity.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of a method for communicating content usingremnant capacity in greater detail.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method for scheduling content at anintermediate device.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a method for prioritizing content for deliverythrough the remnant capacity delivery system.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart for prioritizing the traffic through acommunication system provider.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for a method for providing sports replays.

FIGS. 25A-25D are user interfaces for obtaining sports replays.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a method for providing software, device orapplication updates.

FIG. 27A is a first representation of a channel guide implemented as agrid guide generated at the intermediate device using content availableat the intermediate device.

FIG. 27B is a second representation of a channel guide implemented as aposter display generated at the intermediate device using contentavailable at the intermediate device.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart of a method for generating a channel.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart of a method for broadcasting only a portion ofthe content and following up with broadcasting the rest of the content.

FIG. 30 is a block diagrammatic simplified system according to thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 31 is a simplified block diagrammatic view of the system controllerof FIG. 30 .

FIG. 32 is a simplified block diagrammatic view of a user device as usedin FIG. 30 .

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of a method for operating the system.

FIG. 34 is a high level block diagrammatic view of a broadcasttelevision network system used for delivering content to an intermediatestorage device.

FIG. 35 is a second example of a system for distributing content througha broadcast television system with a different content distributionnetwork system domain than that illustrated in FIG. 34 .

FIG. 36 is a representation of the bandwidth of the system of FIGS. 34and 35 .

FIG. 37 is a signaling flowchart of the registration process for theintermediate storage device.

FIG. 38 is a signaling flowchart of the content distribution processusing unicast.

FIG. 39 is a signaling flowchart of the content distribution processusing broadcast.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of a method for receiving various factors at thecontent distribution network system and determining the content andbroadcasting or unicasting of the content.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is notintended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. Forpurposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in thedrawings to identify similar elements. As used herein, the term modulerefers to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), anelectronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memorythat execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinationallogic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide thedescribed functionality. As used herein, the phrase at least one of A,B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using anon-exclusive logical OR. It should be understood that steps within amethod may be executed in different order without altering theprinciples of the present disclosure. The teachings of the presentdisclosure can be implemented in a system for electronicallycommunicating content to an end user or user device. Both the datasource and the user device may be formed using a general computingdevice having a memory or other data storage for incoming and outgoingdata. The memory may comprise but is not limited to a hard drive, FLASH,RAM, PROM, EEPROM, ROM phase-change memory or other discrete memorycomponents.

Each general purpose computing device may be implemented electronicallyin analog circuitry, digital circuitry or combinations thereof. Further,the computing device may include a microprocessor or microcontrollerthat performs instructions to carry out the steps performed by thevarious system components. A content or service provider is alsodescribed. A content or service provider is a provider of data to theend user. The service provider, for example, may provide datacorresponding to the content such as metadata as well as the actualcontent in a data stream or signal. The content or service provider mayinclude a general purpose computing device, communication components,network interfaces and other associated circuitry to allow communicationwith various other devices in the system.

Further, while the following disclosure is made with respect to thedelivery of video (e.g., television (TV), movies, music videos, etc.),it should be understood that the systems and methods disclosed hereincould also be used for delivery of any media content type, for example,audio, music, data files, web pages, advertising, software, softwareupdates, IoT data, weather, application, application data, “best of web”content, e-delivery of materials, etc. Additionally, throughout thisdisclosure reference is made to data, content, information, programs,movie trailers, movies, advertising, assets, video data, etc., however,it will be readily apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art thatthese terms are substantially equivalent in reference to the examplesystems and/or methods disclosed herein.

While the following disclosure is made with specific broadcast servicesand systems, it should be understood that many other delivery systemsare readily applicable to disclosed systems and methods. Such systemsinclude wireless terrestrial distribution systems, wired or cabledistribution systems, cable television distribution systems, Ultra HighFrequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radio frequency systems orother terrestrial broadcast systems (e.g., Multi-channel Multi-pointDistribution System (MMDS), Local Multi-point Distribution System(LMDS), etc.), Internet-based distribution systems, or mobiledistribution systems, power-line broadcast systems, any point-to-pointand/or multicast Internet Protocol (IP) delivery network, and fiberoptic networks. Further, the different functions collectively allocatedamong a service provider and intermediate devices as described below canbe reallocated as desired without departing from the intended scope ofthe present disclosure.

User devices may be coupled to the Internet through a constrainednetwork or not even coupled to the Internet at all. In a constrainednetwork, the speed or available resources may not be sufficient toprovide a quality level of service. In the present examples, remnantcapacity of the constrained network or a second less constrained networkmay be used to pre-position content at an intermediate device. Thepre-positioned content may then be provided from intermediate devicestorage directly or through a second communication network (i.e. localnetwork) when demanded at the user device for real time consumption,without having to rely on using the constrained network for thatreal-time consumption.

Remnant capacity is a resource or a plurality of resources that are notbeing used for transmitting data or content by a content system providerduring regular customer use. Regular use of a communication network forprimary customers may be referred to as a primary use. Remnant capacitymay be referred to as a secondary use and may be governed betweenagreements between a content provider and a communication systemprovider. The content provider may wish to provide a service to usersusing the remnant capacity. Users may not be aware of the path thecontent traverses. The use of resources for the remnant capacity has alower priority that can be allocated to another for a higher priorityuse. In the simplest sense, remnant capacity is a data path or bandwidththat is increasingly left unutilized during non-peak times of networkuse. Inversely, there is limited remnant capacity available during thepeak times of network use. In all cases, such peak time of network useis characterized as the time when most of the usage of the servicesoffered by the network is taking place by the network's users or directcustomers. The non-peak time is the time when the least usage of theservices is taking place by their users. For example, in a long termevolution wireless network (LTE) system, remnant capacity may be thebandwidth not being used for voice or data content requested from usersin real time. In the cases of “spectrum re-use”, capacity used by someusers for real-time consumption of some content during peak times, mayleave remnant capacity at the same time, as capacity that is eitherunusable by other users for real-time consumption of other content oronly usable by other users for real-time consumption of the samecontent, if that content is broadcasted instead of unicasted. In thecases of “network re-use”, capacity used by some users for real-timeconsumption of content during peak times, may leave remnant capacity atother times, as capacity that is not demanded to be used for real-timeconsumption of content by other users at these times as they arenon-peak-times and are not of interest to users to use at such times(such interest to users to use as why there is a peak time in thenetwork after all). In a satellite system, the remnant capacity is thebandwidth not being used for broadcasting of content to users for thesake of real-time consumption of such content or for voice or datacontent requested from users in real time and may similarly beunder-utilized as in wireless network systems. There is a very limitedincremental cost for utilizing this remnant capacity, or the unused orunder-used resources of a communication provider's network, as that costis already being borne for the provision of regular customer useservices, and as such offers means for highly cost effective contentdistribution. By utilizing the remnant capacity that would otherwise bewasted, the present system allows communication system providers to useit to offer other services to customers or to sell the capacity toothers.

The remnant capacity may be used in various ways by intercommunicationof the intermediate devices, the communication system provider, and thecontent service provider. In the cases of “spectrum re-use”, there havebeen many efforts to generate additional parallel uses of the samespectrum for real-time consumption by multiple users, using the samespectrum. However, utilizing remnant capacity, an almost infinitely high(as far as the number of users benefitting) amount of re-use can begenerated by simply broadcasting this content, instead of unicasting it,and by having some users use it for real-time consumption, and for theremnant capacity to be used for non-real-time consumption by storingthis same content at other intermediate storage devices at this sametime, and then accessed by other users during a different time in thefuture, directly or using other communication networks, which may alsobe less constrained than the network described herein. Further, in thecases of “network re-use”, today this remnant capacity goes largelyunutilized as operators have had a challenging time of incentivizing“changes in user behavior” to use the network more during “off-peak”times than they otherwise would like for real-time consumption—thebenefit to consumers of using the network during peak times forreal-time consumption instead of during off-peak times, far outweigh anyincentives or benefits which the operators can pass on to the consumersto shift their real-time consumption. However, such remnant capacity canbe used in-full for non-real-time consumption, by unicasting orbroadcasting content using remnant capacity and by storing this contentat other intermediate storage devices, and then accessed by other usersduring a different time in the future, directly or using othercommunication networks, which may be less constrained than the networkdescribed herein.

Queries as to the current availability of capacity and the upcomingavailability of capacity, including real-time consumptions and theremaining capacity, may be formed in order to identify the availabilityof remnant capacity. Further, Quality of service (QoS) prioritizationusing evolved multimedia broadcast and multicast services (eMBMS)quality class identifiers, as well as quality-of-service classidentifiers (QCIs) used in any wireless or other communication system,may be performed, providing higher QCI levels to traffic for real-timeconsumption, while leaving traffic for non-real-time consumption onlower QCI levels, effectively rendering it to use of remnant capacityonly.

Prioritization of content to be communicated using the remnant capacitymay be formed. Delivery of content using remnant capacity may bequeue-driven. All of the content to be delivered may be placed into thequeue with attributed priority levels for each portion of content, andthen served from the queue automatically upon remnant capacityavailability, coordinating which content is served in which sequence perwhat rule. Content may also be retransmitted using remnant capacity.User preferences (queuing), missing content (error correction), contentmost popular for some users (personalization), content most popular formost users (popularity or short-tail optimization), as well as theremainder of content may all be used in prioritizing within queues.

The present system provides a high-capacity broadcast delivery system ora targeted unicast delivery system for pre-positioning content, thatcombines the strategic use of excess capacity or remnant capacity in acontent communication network with pre-positioning content close to theusers by caching and storage of such content at local content stores, toallow users to access a large amount of content such as over-the-top(OTT) content, software updates, or other highly intensive dataapplications without needing to traverse the content communicationnetwork at the time the content is desired. This system may use theremnant capacity of a system over the same exact spectrum (in the caseof spectrum re-use) as real-time consumption by broadcasting content tousers including to those requesting it for real-time consumption and toothers using the remnant spectrum capacity for pre-positioning, insteadof just unicasting it to only the users requesting it for real-timeconsumption, or over remnant capacity left-over from non-peak-use ofnetworks for real-time consumption, by unicasting or broadcastingcontent for pre-positioning. As will be further described below, thesystem may use remnant capacity of different types of communicationsystems including but not limited to mobile or cellular systems such asan LTE system, a satellite system or a digital television system.Content such as video content may be provided to an intermediate devicewhich stores the content therein. When users request content forreal-time consumption, the content may be provided from the stored orcached content store, rather than requiring that content to be served bythe content communication network in response to users' requests andsubjecting users to slow speeds of the constrained content communicationnetwork or from further burdening the content communication network. Awide variety of video programming including movies, television, shows,documentaries and news may be provided based upon user preferences.Also, other types of video programming such as instant replays may alsobe provided to users. The system may also be used to provide softwareand application updates for various types of users that are coupled tothe intermediate device. The system may also be used for defensepurposes or purposes in which high amounts of data are required, butwhereas such data may be pre-positioned at the local content store bythe content communication network and not be required to be deliveredfrom the source of such data on a live or real-time basis.

The system is particularly suitable for rural customers, customers inmarkets with lower speed, lower capacity networks, or customers ofcompanies that want to utilize their lower speed networks to offer anequivalent of high speed cable or fiber network offerings, to haveaccess to large data, over-the-top services or other large dataapplications. Specifically, the system may also allow non-rural or othercustomers to use wireless, satellite, TV, or DSL or other wired networksto effectively meet their content demands, without the need for anadditional high-speed cable or fiber network offering. Thus, large datacontent, including over-the-top content (OTT) video, software updates,and other large data, may be offloaded to be served by the presentsystem while the lower speed content communication network serves users'real-time/live voice and data requests, that cannot be pre-positionedeffectively, using peak or regular capacity, and thus the need forhigh-speed cable or fiber network offerings within the home may beeliminated so that expenses may be reduced. The system may also allowcongestion on even high speed cable and fiber networks, or any of theaforementioned networks, to be alleviated by combining content deliverythrough pre-positioning and subsequent use from local content stores andby serving users' real-time/live voice and data requests, that cannot bepre-positioned effectively, using peak or regular capacity, in a unifiedsystem. Further, this system may also increase the effective capacity ofbroadband networks by using a much greater portion, or the entirety, ofa content communication network's capacity, by using the combination ofremnant capacity for pre-positioning of content and subsequent use fromlocal content stores, and peak or regular capacity for serving users'real-time/live voice and data requests. If content that is likely to bedownloaded to the user is pre-positioned at the local content store, orthe intermediate device, and then served from the intermediate device,the need to instead use the content communication network on areal-time/live request basis is reduced, especially in peak hours.Pre-positioning of large data, including over-the-top video and softwareupdates, frees the capacity of mobile and fixed broadband networks forother real-time content requests, real-time two-way communications, orother live content consumption, especially during peak times. Bycombining a pre-positioning, remnant capacity approach with a real-timevoice and data request, peak or regular capacity approaches, lower speedbroadband service providers may compete head-to-head with establishedcable or fiber providers while any of the aforementioned networksimprove their performance by leveraging such a combination ofapproaches.

It is also desired for a system to be able to serve users requests froma first user for real-time consumption, using broadcast transmissions,not only when there are other users desiring the same content forreal-time consumption (like in the case of the mode described in eMBMS),but also when there are other users who may desire this content fornon-real-time consumption, in order to store this same content as in thefirst user's request in intermediate storage and then to access thiscontent for real-time consumption but in the future, at a later time.When a first user requests to access content, instead of serving thatfirst user's request using a unicast transmission, the system caninstead serve that first user's request using a broadcast transmission,allowing that first user and any other user, desiring to access thatcontent for real-time consumption, to real-time consume that content;while at the same time, the remnant broadcast transmissions to be ableto be received by devices of any and all other users addressable by thebroadcast transmission for non-real-time consumption, to store suchcontent in those devices and for such any and all other users to accesssuch content directly from their devices for real-time consumption atsome later time.

The system could further make determinations of when it is advantageousto serve a given first user's request using a unicast transmission, asunicast transmissions are today higher throughput and have higherspectral efficiencies than broadcast transmissions on the order of50-1,000%, and when it is advantageous to instead serve such firstuser's request using a broadcast transmission, where even though abroadcast transmission may be 50-1,000% disadvantaged in throughput andspectral efficiency than a unicast transmission, there are more than50-1,000% more users than the first user which would benefit from havingthis request be received and stored by their devices for non-real-timeconsumption, and accessed for real-time consumption at a future time.This could involve analysis of not just how many users may benefit, butthe likelihood of how many users may benefit based on analysis of theirusage preferences, the popularity of the content in the request, and thelikelihood that the cost of serving those users using unicasttransmissions at a future time will be greater than the cost of using abroadcast transmission vs a unicast transmission at the current time.

Further, such system could also include a mechanism for determiningwhether any given device should receive the remnant capacity broadcastand store the data for non-real-time consumption, or if it should simplylet it pass by. This determination could be based on its currentavailable storage, the content already stored on that device fornon-real-time consumption, and the content scheduled to be delivered tothat device for non-real-time consumption, and the relative value ofsuch opportunistic broadcast data and the cost of receiving it andstoring it versus the value of the content already stored on that deviceor scheduled to be delivered to that device for non-real-timeconsumption.

For example, a first user desires to watch a movie #1, which is arelatively popular film, and requests it to be delivered for real-timeconsumption. The system analyzes that only 10% of the users in the samearea as the first user, have movie #1 already stored on their devicesfor non-real-time consumption, but that of the remaining 90% of theusers, 70% of those 90% or 63% would have a high likelihood of consumingmovie #1 at a future time if it was stored on their devices fornon-real-time consumption. The system serves movie #1 to the first userusing a broadcast transmission instead of a unicast transmission, whilehaving the other 63% of the users in the area as the first user receivethe remnant broadcast transmission and store movie #1 for non-real-timeconsumption by these 63% of the users. In the future, some of theseusers whose devices stored movie #1 for non-real-time consumption,request to watch movie #1 at some future times, and movie #1 is servedto them directly from their devices instead of using the network.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a high level block diagrammatic view of acommunication system 10 is set forth. In this example, a communicationsystem provider 12 is a system that is in communication with acommunication network 14 and controls the operation of the communicationnetwork 14. The communication network 14 is in communication with anintermediate device such as an intermediate device 16. The communicationsystem provider 12 is used for controlling the communication network 14.The communication network 14 may be in direct connection with thecommunication provider or to the internet 18. The communication systemprovider 12 controls the schedule and placement of content through thecommunication network 14. The communication system provider 12 mayreceive content from various sources as will be described further below.

The communication network 14 is in communication with the internet 18.The communication network 14 may be a single stand-alone network or maybe a combination of networks. That is, the remnant capacity of one ormore networks may deliver content to the intermediate device 16. Thecommunication network 14 may be wireless. The communication network 14for communicating content to the intermediate device 16 may include asatellite 30 that has one or more transponders 32 therein for receivingand communicating content therefrom. The satellite 30 may also include areceiving antenna 34 that is in communication with an antenna 36 of thecommunication system provider. A transmitting antenna 38 communicatescontent to an antenna 40 of the intermediate device 16. The antennas 34,36, 38 may represent multiple antennas or multiples types of antennas.

The communication network 14 may also include a cell tower 42, or anyother wireless transmission device, having an antenna 44 (or antennas)thereon. The antenna 44 may represent a cellular antenna, a Wi-Fiantenna, or any other wireless transmission antenna of the cell tower 42and may communicate content wirelessly to the intermediate device 16through the antenna 44, from the communication system provider 12,including also wirelessly through the antenna 44.

The communication network 14 may also include a television tower 46having an antenna 48 thereon. The TV tower 46 may communicate content tothe intermediate device 16 from the communication system provider 12.

In all communication system cases, the communication network 14 maycommunicate using remnant capacity as will be further described below.The remnant capacity may include various types of resources, that arenot being used for serving users' real-time/live voice and data requestsand their real-time/live voice and data consumption, and that are moreideally used for pre-positioning of content to the intermediate device16. As mentioned above, the communication network 14 may effectivelydistribute (pre-position) content on a non-real-time basis to theintermediate device 16, for subsequent consumption by users directlyfrom the intermediate device 16 instead of from the communicationnetwork 14.

The communication network 14 may communicate with the local area network310, which would in turn communicate the content to the intermediatedevice 16, or the intermediate device 16 directly, using various typesof access systems so that a maximum amount of content may be provided tothe various intermediate devices. For example, the communication network14 may use frequency division multiple access, timed division multipleaccess, spatial division multiple access, code division multiple accessand orthogonal frequency division multiple access. Depending upon therequirements of the system and the types of systems provided, differenttypes of access protocols may be used.

The intermediate device 16 may also have an antenna 50 disposed thereon.The antenna 50 may communicate with the antenna 44 and the antenna 48 ofthe communication network 14. By making the intermediate device portablethe antenna 50 may be placed in a position of high reception. Theintermediate device 16 may act as a small cell.

An antenna 40 of an outdoor unit system 52 may be used to communicatewith the antenna 38 of the satellite 30. The antenna 40 may be a flatfaced phased-array antenna. Details of the outdoor unit system 52 andthe intermediate device 16 are provided below.

The intermediate device 16 may also include a content storage 60. Thecontent storage 60 may include a solid state content storage, a harddisk drive or a combination of both. The content storage 60 may bedesigned to hold a substantive amount of data on the order of multipleterabytes or greater. The content storage 60 is used to storepre-positioned content received through either the antenna 40 or theantenna 50. The intermediate device 16 may also be in communication witha back haul network 64. The back haul network 64 may be part of thecommunication network which, as demonstrated, is presented as wirelesssystems. The back haul network 64 may be a wireless network as well.

The system 10 may be suitable for prepositioning content using a wirednetwork 66 as well. That is, the intermediate device 16 may also becoupled to the Internet 18 through the wired network 66. Content may beprepositioned using the remnant capacity of the wired network 66 as willbe described below. The wired networks may be a DSL network, a cablenetwork, or a fiber network.

The communication network 14 may also be in communication with a vehicle70. The vehicle 70 may include an intermediate device 16′ configured inthe same manner as that of the intermediate device 16. The vehicle 70may include various types of vehicles including an automobile, a ship, abus, a train, an airplane or the like. The intermediate device 16′ iscoupled to one or more antennas 50′ that may be located on the exteriorof the vehicle. Of course, the antennas 50′ may be located within thevehicle 70 at the intermediate device 16′. A user device 80 is incommunication with the intermediate device 16. For convenience, a linerepresenting either a wireless or wired connection is presented betweenthe user device 80 and the intermediate device 16. The user device 80requests content from the intermediate device 16 and, more particularly,from the content storage 60 of the intermediate device 16. A venue 81such as a stadium, office building, hotel or multiple dwelling unit mayhave an intermediate device 16″ with an exterior antenna 51 incommunication with the satellite antenna 38, the antenna 42 of the celltower 42 and/or the antenna 48 of the TV tower.

The cell tower 42 may use LTE technology or other cellular technology.In particular, the cell tower 42 may use LTE-B technology to communicatewith the intermediate device 16. A wired connection 82 may be disposedbetween the communication network 14 and the internet 18 and/orcommunication system provider 12. As will be described below, theintermediate device 16 may be part of the cell tower 42 and thus theantenna 44 may act as a Wi-Fi_33 or WiMAX antenna for communicating withthe user devices.

The connection between the communication network 14 and the internet 18or the communication system provider 12 may also include remnantcapacity. This remnant capacity may be utilized by the system in asimilar way as the afore described remnant capacity, to distributepre-positioned content to the communication network 14 or to theinternet 18, for their in-turn distribution of such pre-positionedcontent, including using remnant capacity, to ultimately reach theintermediate device 16.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , the communication system provider 12 is shownin communication with a content service provider 90. The content serviceprovider 90 is a system that is used for providing content to thecommunication system provider 12. The content service provider 90 andthe communication system provider 12 may be business entities. Thecontent service provider 90 may purchase the remnant capacity of thecommunication system provider 12. The content service provider 90 may bea service provider that is subscribed to by the users of the user device80. However, the content service provider 90 may include pre-existingservices such as mobile phone service providers, cable providers and thelike. The content service provider 90 communicates various instructionsto the communication system provider 12 so that the content isdistributed using the remnant capacity of the communication systemprovider 12. Details of the intercommunication between these systems aredescribed in further detail below.

The content service provider 90 may receive content from various sourcesincluding an advertisement source 210, a first content provider 212A, asecond content provider 212B, a software/device/application updatesource 214 and a sport replay source 216. The advertisement source 210may communicate advertisements to the content service provider 90. Theadvertisements may include video, audio and metadata associatedtherewith. The metadata associated with an advertisement may includedesired targets or which users would find the content desirable and aproduct definition.

The content providers 212A and 212B may also provide video and audiocontent as well as metadata for the content. The metadata may includethe content title, actors or actresses, and various other identifyingdata including various categories such as genres and the like. Thecontent may be requested from the content providers or indicated to bepre-positioned at the intermediate devices by the content providers.

The software/device/application update source 214 may provide newsoftware, software updates, device updates and application updates tothe intermediate device 16 through the content service provider 90 andthe communication system provider 12, intended for the user device. Theupdates may be incremental changes to software resident in a userdevice, whereas the new software may be software not currently withinthe user device or intermediate device 16. The software and updates maybe requested by a device for non-real-time delivery or delivered throughno action of the device and pre-positioned at the intermediate devicebased on the identity of the user device, the software or theapplications residing thereon.

The sports replay source 216 may provide sports replays to the contentservice provider 90 for distribution to the intermediate device 16. Thesports replay content may be short video clips of certain special orimportant events of a game or match. Sports replays may be clips thatinclude both audio and video content. The sports replay may also includemetadata that identifies the team, the players involved, the sport, theclip or replay display title and the like. The clip display title iswhat may be displayed to a user in a user interface.

The metadata included with the various types of content described aboveallows the content to be distributed to the proper intermediate deviceor intermediate devices on the right schedule while accommodating anyother content distribution priorities while using the remnant capacityof the communication network under the control of the communicationsystem provider 12.

The intermediate device 16 is illustrated having content storage 60 andalso a receiver 220. The receiver 220 may be used to receivecommunications from the wireless communication network 14. A transmitter222 may be used to transmit wirelessly or by wire to and from thewireless communication network 14, the wired network 64 and/or the wirednetwork 66.

The user device 80 is illustrated having a direct or wired connection224 with the intermediate device 16. The intermediate device 16 may thusbe a dongle or other type of directly connected device to the userdevice 80. The wired connection 224 may be an HDMI or USB connection.

More than one intermediate device may be disposed in a system. Theintermediate device 16 may also communicate with a second intermediatedevice 16′. The intermediate device 16′ may be configured in the samemanner as that of the intermediate device 16. The intermediate device 16may communicate from the antenna 50 to the antenna 50′ of theintermediate device 16′. The intermediate devices 16, 16′ may form apeer-to-peer network which is described in more detail below. Of course,more than two intermediate devices may form a peer-to-peer network. Thepeer-to-peer network may communicate various types of contenttherebetween. That is, if one intermediate device misses a portion of acontent transmitted from the wireless communication network 14, anotherintermediate device may be queried to determine whether the intermediatedevice includes the missing content. The missing content may thus becommunicated in a peer-to-peer basis between the antennas 50 and 50′.The wireless communication network 14 may also distribute variousportions of the content which are then communicated to various otherintermediate devices in an intentional way rather than a “missing” way.If content is desired by the user of one intermediate device but is notavailable at that intermediate device, the intermediate device for theintentional request may request the content from another intermediatedevice within the peer-to-peer network. Further, some such intermediatedevices 16′ may be configured to not have an ability to receive contentfrom wireless communication network 14, and be only able to communicatewith other intermediate devices 16 and 16′ to receive such “intentional”or “missing” content.

The intermediate device 16′ may be in communication with a user device80′. The user device 80′ may be in communication with the intermediatedevice 16′ through the antenna 50″. The user device 80′ may beconfigured in a similar manner to that set forth at the user device 80′but may be a wireless device rather than a wired connection as isillustrated with respect to the user device 80.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , the communication system provider 12 may be incommunication with a local area network 310 through the communicationnetwork 14 as described above. Only the communication network 14 isillustrated for simplicity. FIGS. 1 and 2 do not illustrate the localarea network 310. The local area network 310 may have an interface 312for communicating with the communication network 14. The interface 312may be a modem.

The local area network 310 may also be coupled to a second communicationnetwork 14′. The second network 14′ may be the primary two wayconnection to the Internet for the user devices 332-344. The secondnetwork 14′ may represent dial-up or a digital subscriber line. Asdescribed in the examples set forth herein, the system 10 may be used topreposition content in the intermediate device 16. The supplementationof content is particularly useful when the second communication network14′ for providing regular internet service to user devices 332-344 isslower than the speed of the communication network 14, although notnecessarily. It is possible that the local area network 310 may not havea two way connection to the internet except the prepositioned contentreceived through the communication system.

The local area network 310 may also include a router 314. The router 314may be used for connecting the intermediate devices with user deviceswithin the local area network 310. The local area network may provideboth a wired network 316 and a wireless network 318. Various devices maytake advantage of each method of communicating.

The local area network 310 is in communication with one or moreintermediate devices 16 as described above. The local area network 310may also include an intermediate device 16, along with an interface 312,and a router 314. The local area network 310 may also include a userdevice 332, along with an intermediate device 16, interface 312, and arouter 314. The intermediate device 16 includes the content storage 60and the antenna 50 as described in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The intermediatedevice 16′ is in communication with the local area network 310 and mayexchange content or other signals with the intermediate device 16through the local area network 310. An intermediate device 16″ may alsobe located within a user device 330. The user device 330 or theintermediate device 16″ therein may include an antenna 50″ forcommunicating with the local area network 310. The intermediate device16″ may receive content using the remnant capacity of the communicationnetwork 14. The user device 330 may be one of a variety of types ofdevices including a video game console, a cellular phone, a set top boxor the like.

The user device 330 may be coupled to the local area network 310 througheither the wired network 316 or the wireless network 318.

A user device 332 may be coupled to the local area network 310 through awired network 316. The user device 334 may be coupled to the local areanetwork 310 through a wireless network 318. As mentioned above, the userdevices 332, 334 may be various types of user devices including acellular phone or smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, a TV or the like.

An internet of things (IoT) device 336 may be coupled to the local areanetwork 310 through the wireless or wired networks 316, 318. The IoTdevices 336 may require software and application updates suitablydelivered via remnant capacity.

A television 338 may also be coupled to the local area network 310through the wired network 316 or the wireless network 318. Thetelevision 338 may be a smart television for directly coupling to thewired network 316 or the wireless network 318. However, the television338 may also require a dongle 340 that is used for communication withthe wireless network 318. The dongle 340 may have an application thereinfor providing the television 338 with a graphical user interface. Thedongle 340 may also include a content storage for storing contenttherein. The dongle 340 may also act as an intermediate device forreceiving and storing content.

A smartphone 342 may also be in communication with the wired network 316and the wireless network 318 so that access to the local area network310 may be obtained.

A machine 344 may also be in communication with the local area network310 through the wired network 316 or the wireless network 318.

All of the user devices 330-344 may be in communication with thewireless network 318 using many different types of standards includingBluetooth and Wi-Fi. Each of the user devices 330-344 may receivecontent through the local area network 310 from at least one of theintermediate devices 16, 16′ and 16″. The application for retrieving andserving content to the user devices 330-344 may be in the devices330-344, in the intermediate device 16, in the local area network 310,in the router 314 or in the interface 312.

The types of content may include audio content, video content, operatingsystem updates, other software updates, applications, weatherinformation, “best of web” content and e-delivery of various materials.The users of the user devices 330-344 may each obtain the various typesof content from the content storage 60 of the intermediate device 16.The content may be obtained individually or simultaneously from thecontent storage 60. As will be described below, the user devices 330-344may provide an inventory list or a list of desired content that iscommunicated through the local area network 310 and ultimately back tothe communication system provider 12 of content service provider 90illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 . The communication back may be performedwith either the communication network 14 or 14′.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , an LTE content delivery system 410 isillustrated. In this example, the communication modules are specificallydirected to an LTE system that provides an over-the-top video system.However, other cellular phone systems may be used. An over-the-top videoon-demand partner data center 420 acts as the content service provider90 and has a video origin server 422 disposed therein. The video originserver 422 receives video content from various sources including thesources set forth in FIG. 2 . The partner data center 420 is incommunication with the communication system provider 12. In this case,the communication system provider 12 is an LTE wireless data center 430.The LTE wireless data center 430 includes video servers 432 that are incommunication with the video origin server 422. The wireless data center430 is also in communication with an intelligence engine/content controlsystem 434. The intelligence engine/content control system 434 may beused for various functions as will be described in detail below. Theintelligence engine/content control system 434 may, in general, be usedfor identifying remnant capacity, including that of LTE wireless network440, and scheduling the delivery of content to the intermediate devices,including using LTE wireless network 440. The intelligenceengine/content control system 434 may also be responsible for managingthe content at the intermediate devices by removing the content whennecessary. The intelligence engine/content control system 434 may alsobe responsible for calculating the optimal amount of content, thefrequency of such content re-distribution, and the relative timing ofdifferent content to be distributed by the LTE wireless network 440 andto be distributed to any intermediate device 16.

The video servers 432 of the wireless data center 430 is incommunication with an LTE wireless network 440. The LTE wireless network440 is in communication with a customer premises 450. The customerpremises 450 may include an intermediate device 16. The intermediatedevice 16 may include an LTE-B access point 452 used for accessing thecontent at the wireless network 440. The access point 452 may also beused for receiving instructions for tuning to the wireless network 440.Specific instruction signals may be provided for tuning to content atspecific times. Channels, frequencies and times may all be communicatedin the instruction signals.

The intermediate device 16 may also include a Wi-Fi access point 454 anda content storage 456. The Wi-Fi access point 454 may establish a Wi-Finetwork with the various user devices 458 within the system. The Wi-Fiaccess point may be referred to as a router. The content storage 456 maybe used to store the content received through the LTE-B access point452. Of course, other wireless technologies may be accessed by thewireless access point. Each of the user devices 458 may include anapplication for accessing the content within the content storage 456.The application may also be received through the access point 452 or itmay be pre-stored within the content storage 456 when a user purchasesthe system. The application may also be pre-stored within the userdevices 458.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , a content provider system 510 based upon thesatellite 30 is set forth. In this example, a ground station 520communicates content to a transmitting antenna 522. The transmittingantenna 522 communicates content to the satellite 30 through an uplink524. A downlink 526 communicates content to a satellite receiver 528located at the customer premises or other user. The downlink 526 may beformed from signals from one or more transponders of the satellite 30.Multiple paths or beams may communicate to an intermediate device 530 ormultiple intermediate devices. Of course, a single wide beam such as acontinental United States beam (ConUS) may be used as well. Theintermediate device 530 is in communication with the satellite receiver528. The satellite receiver 528 may also be disposed within theintermediate device 530. The intermediate device 530 communicatescontent through a wireless network 532 to the user devices 534. Thecontent from the ground station may be communicated using remnantcapacity from resources that are not fully used at any predeterminedtime. The intermediate device communicates with a network 540 to providea return link 542. The network 540 may be any type of network supportingan uplink including but not limited to cellular network, a satellite, awireless network or a wired network. The network 540 may be incommunication with the internet 544 which provides data to a first videoservice provider 550A or a second video service provider 550B. Variousanalytic data, content lists, preferences and the like may becommunicated from the intermediate device 530 to the video serviceproviders 550A, 550B.

The video service provider 550A may be in communication with a contentdelivery network 552A. The video service provider 550B may be incommunication with a content delivery network 552B. The content deliverynetworks 552A, 552B may correspond to a business partner of the service.The content delivery networks 552A, 552B may communicate content to acontent delivery network interconnection location 554 where the contentis then communicated to a communication system provider content deliverynetwork 556. The content delivery network 556 communicates content tothe ground station 520 which may be part of the communication systemprovider 12. A video provider vault 560 may receive the content from thecontent delivery network 556. A second vault 562 may also receivecontent from the content delivery network. The vault 562 may storedifferent types of content than that of the video provider vault 560. Asmentioned above, the system may provide different types of data to theintermediate devices including software, video replaced, original videocontent, audio content and the like.

An analytics engine 566 is disposed within the ground station 520. Theanalytics engine 566 may receive feedback from the plurality ofintermediate devices 530 disposed in the system. The analytic serversinterpret the feedback from the intermediate devices for various aspectsincluding usage trending, troubleshooting, preferences, demographics,behavioral data for advertising, pricing, intelligence engineperformance and other analytic functions.

The vaults 560, 562 provide protected storage of video and metadatabased upon content partner needs and various agreements.

A content manager/scheduler (CMS) 570 may be incorporated within theground station 520. The content manager/scheduler 570 manages theschedule by which all content and commands are sent to the intermediatedevice including receiving content prioritization information from anintelligence engine 572 and creates the appropriate schedule for thebroadcasting content, receiving intermediate device control messagesfrom the intermediate device, management server and creating anappropriate schedule for broadcasting messages, instructing the serversto pull content from the content vault 562 and broadcasting the contentaccording to the schedule. The CMS 570 may also generate commands forthe intermediate device, instructing the intermediate devices to usespecific tuners at specific times. The content manager/scheduler 570also determines the remnant capacity based upon the content beingbroadcast through the system and forecasted content. The contentmanager/scheduler 570 enables the broadcasting of the content using theremnant capacity.

The intelligence engine 572 receives information from the variouscontent partners determines the content available to be distributed andthat the content is available to be distributed at the vaults 560, 562.The intelligence engine 572 also may schedule the removal of contentpreviously delivered to the intermediate devices for removal. Theintelligence engine 572 may also monitor the intermediate devices andthe amount of content storage available on each intermediate device.Different partners may be associated with the ground station 520. Thatis, the data may be retrieved from the intermediate devices on apartner-by-partner basis so that the content may be scheduledaccordingly. The intelligence engine 572 may also specify the times andthe periodicity for broadcasting and rebroadcasting content. As will bedescribed below, the carousel used for broadcasting the content usingthe satellite may be regulated using the intelligence engine 572. Theground station 520 includes an intermediate device management server580. The intermediate device management server is responsible for themanagement of the intermediate devices at the customer premises. Theintermediate devices generate secured management messages for theintermediate devices and monitor the utilization and health of theintermediate devices. The allocation of storage may be managed by theintermediate device management server based upon various partneragreements. The intermediate device management server 580 also managesthe remote configuration, authentication and troubleshooting for theintermediate devices.

Referring now to FIG. 6 , a ground station 520 similar to that set forthin FIG. 5 is set forth with the same reference numerals. The groundstation 520 may be in communication with a content partner premises 610.The content partner premises 610 may include the content partner videoorigin server 612 and a content manager/scheduler 614.

Referring now also to FIG. 7 , the ground station 520 may include aplurality of data carousel servers 620. The operation of the groundstation 520 relative to the content partner premises 610 is set forth inFIG. 7 . In step 710, the content is communicated to the storage vaultand the content is managed at the storage vaults 560, 562 from thecontent partner video origin server 612. The storage vaults 560, 562store the content therein. From CMS 614, content transport commands arecommunicated with priorities to the intelligence engine 572 from thecontent manager/scheduler 614 of the content partner premises. In step714, a schedule for the distribution of the content is determined basedupon the transport command and the priorities at the intelligence engine572. The priority may be increased by payment from a partner provider.In steps 716, the content that is stored within the vaults is verifiedfor the content schedule by the intelligence engine. That is, theintelligence engine 572 determines whether the vault contains thecontent for the schedule. In step 718, the schedule is communicated fromthe intelligence engine 572 to the content manager/scheduler (CMS) 570of the ground station 520. In step 720, transmission commands aregenerated at the CMS 570 and communicated to the carousel servers 620.The carousel servers 620 are controlled in response to the transmissioncommands in steps 722 and format multiple paths. The repetition rate,the number of servers dedicated to a particular content and thebitstream may all be established with the transmission command so thatthe carousel servers are controlled in response thereto. When it is timefor distributing the content, the carousel servers 620 pull the contentfrom the appropriate vault according to the transmission command or theschedule associated with the transmission command in step 724. In step726, the content is transmitted to the intermediate devices using theremnant capacity as determined by the intermediate device managementserver 580.

The content partner premises or the ground station 520 may receivefeedback from the individual intermediate devices including usagetrending, troubleshooting, preferences, demographics, behavioral datafor advertising, pricing, intelligence engine performance and otheranalytic functions, including but not limited to deliveryacknowledgements, delivery feedback information, quality of service andair interface channel quality metrics.

The feedback is used to ultimately form the schedules and the differenttypes of content that may be provided including various types ofadvertisements for the different systems.

Referring now to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the intermediate device 16 relative tothe outdoor unit system 52 are illustrated in further detail. Theoutdoor unit system 52 includes an antenna 810 that is mechanically orelectronically steered. The antenna 810 may be a small size such as a 45cm or 75 cm parabolic dish. A flat planer antenna may also be used andmounted flat on a rooftop, awning or on a vehicle. The antenna 810 may,for example, contain single, polarization, a single band wide aperturedevice or a dual polarization self-aiming adaptive array to allow thesatellites to be followed. A parabolic antenna may be motorized tophysically move to track the antenna flight path. If a phased arrayantenna is used, the phased array antenna can be electronically steeredto view the satellite. The antenna is coupled to a low noise amplifier.That is, the satellite signals received at the antenna 810 arecommunicated to a low noise amplifier 812 to electronically amplify thesignal. A down converter is used for down converting the receivedsignals to L-band for transmission over a coaxial line. The downconverter 814 communicates signals to the L-band interface 816.

The outdoor unit 52 may also include a transponder selector 820. Thetransponder selector 820 may be used for tuning to the propertransponder of the satellite for which content is to be received. Asmentioned above, the various data including the time may be provided bythe intelligence engine of the ground station. The signal may bereceived at the transponder and the transponder selector 820 tunes theantenna in response thereto.

The outdoor unit 52 includes a coaxial L-band interface 816 that mayprovide a powered connection to the outdoor unit 52. The L-bandinterface 816 may receive the L-band signal transmitted through thecoaxial cable 818. Although an “L-band” signal is described, variousother types of interfaces to various types of antennas and variousfrequencies may be used. Outside of a satellite system, a televisionantenna or an LTE antenna may be used and interface with the interface816. The interface 816 may thus be configured to receive LTE-B (eMBMS orMBSFN) or may interface with an LTE-B receiver 824A or an ATSC receiver824B for receiving over-the-air television signals with remnantcapacity. The ATSC receiver 824B may be an ATSC 3.0 receiver. Thus, theintermediate device 16 may have a tuner demodulator 830 for tuning toand demodulating the signal received over the external input interface822. The tuner demodulator 830 may tune and demodulate the L-band signalor an ATSC signal received through the input interface 822. The tunerdemodulator 830 may also have error correction therein such as forwarderror correction (FEC). The intermediate device 16 may also have anLTE-B receiver 832 for receiving external inputs from the interface 822.The LTE-B receiver receives the broadcast signals over an ATSC system. Awireline receiver 834 may be used to receive networking traffic. Thewireline 834 receiver may be a USB or HDMI interface.

The external interface 822 may also represent a connection to theInternet 18 through the wired or wireless communication network. Thatis, the external interface 822 may comprise a modem 835 forcommunicating content to the intermediate device 16.

The intermediate device 16 includes a storage module 836 that is used tostore content therein. The storage module 836 may include solid statedevices or a hard disk drive.

A networking and routing interface 838 may include various network androuting access points. For example, a Wi-Fi access point 840 may be usedto interface with a router 842. However, the router 842 may also be usedfor wired communications using the Ethernet/LAN port 844. The networkingand routing interface 838 may include an LTE radio 846 for communicatingLTE radio signals from the device. The LTE-B receiver 832, as well asthe LTE radio 846, may be incorporated into a signal unit. Theintermediate device 16 may also communicate using Bluetooth. That is, aBluetooth access point 848 may be incorporated into the network androuting interface module 838.

The intermediate device 16 may include a controller 850. The controller850 may perform many functions, including as a web server 852, ananalytics engine 854 and a content processor 856. Although individualinterconnections are not illustrated in FIG. 8B, the controller maycontrol the underlying timing and functions of the various moduleswithin the intermediate device. The web server 852 may communicatecontent from the intermediate device in an IP format. The controller 850may also tune to the data at predetermined times as determined by thetimer 858. The timer 858 may be synchronized with various otherintermediate devices within the system using GPS or internet-based timestandard. The content processor 856 tunes to receive the content atpredetermined times, manages the storage of the content, verifies theintegrity of the stored content and receives and manipulates manifestfiles which provide instructions for downloading the content. Theanalytics engine 854 handles the intermediate device-based analyticfunctions for the system.

Neighboring intermediate devices may also receive and transmit from theintermediate device 16. The network and routing interface 838 maycommunicate with other intermediate devices for receipt of content,content chunks or missing content at the storage module 836. Missingcontent may occur when network errors, hardware errors or weatherprevent the content from being received at the storage module 836.Communication with other intermediate devices may take place using theweb server 852 using an internet protocol.

The network and routing interface 838 may communicate a request signalto the communication system provider 12 or the content service provider90 to request content chunks or missing content at the storage module836. The communication system provider may communicate the requestedcontent in a unicast manner using remnant capacity to the requestingintermediate device. A complete broadcast retransmission may also beperformed in response to the request. Retransmission may occur if asignificant number of intermediate devices request particular content.

An authentication module 860 may also be included within the controller850. The authentication module 860 may communicate authenticationsignals to the communication system provider or for the content serviceprovider so that the devices may intercommunicate properly. Anunauthorized device may not be able to receive content from thecommunication system provider.

An ad insertion module 862 may be used for inserting ads atpredetermined times during a broadcast. The ad insertion module 862 maysplice ads based upon user preferences that are predefined. The adinsertion module 862 may act in response to a trigger for insertingadvertisements that may be stored within the storage module 836.

A usage information module 864 may provide the communication systemprovider 12 or the content service provider 90 with information as tothe usage of various information and programming within the intermediatedevice 16. By providing the usage information, content of interest maybe communicated to the intermediate device 16. Usage information mayalso be data related to monitoring the utilization of the network thatcommunicates the signals to the intermediate device 16.

A troubleshooting module 866 is used for transmitting troubleshootinginformation over the outbound signals to the analytics engine foranalysis to identify problems with sourcing video files or theinstallation of the intermediate device 16.

An inventory module 868 stores an inventory of the content stored withinthe storage module 836. The inventory module 868 may also be used toremove content that has expired per the metadata received with thecontent. After the content expires, the inventory module 868 removes thecontent to free space within the storage module 836.

A billing module 870 may transmit billing information from theintermediate device 16 to the content service provider 90. The billingmodule 870 may collect viewed content and other information to providebilling to the owners of the intermediate device 16. The billing module870 may also report inventory data from the inventory module 868 to theintermediate device.

The intermediate device 16 may also include a power supply 872 forpowering the various modules therein.

The intermediate device 16 may also include a library guide/channelmodule 874. The library guide/channel module 874 will be described infurther detail below. The library guide/channel module 874 may be usedto assemble a program guide or virtual channel based upon the contentsstored within the storage module 836. The operation of the libraryguide/channel module 874 will be described in more detail below.However, the intermediate device 16 may be used to formulate a virtualchannel or multiple virtual channels as a series of content fordisplaying a user interface associated with the user device. In thismanner, a familiar grid guide with a plurality of content may beselected by the user. Other types of guides such as a poster guide mayalso be formed from the library guide with content grouped according toa “channel.” A channel may correspond to a typical broadcasting networkthat provides content to an underutilized area that has no capacity tootherwise receive the linear television channel or the contentassociated therewith.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , a method for redirecting requests at theintermediate device is set forth. In step 910, a request is received atthe intermediate device from a user device, whether coupled to theintermediate device 16 through a local area network 310 or embedded inthe intermediate device. The request may come from an application storedwithin the user device. In step 912, the intermediate device receivesthe request for content and redirects the user device to contact the webserver. That is, in step 914, a response signal is communicated to theuser device with the IP address of the intermediate device web server.In step 916, a second request for content is communicated to the webserver of the intermediate device. In step 918, it is determined whetherthe content is stored at the intermediate device. If the content isstored at the intermediate device, content is communicated to the userdevice through the local area network or the direct connection from theintermediate device to the user device. In step 918, if the requestedcontent is not stored at the intermediate device, step 922 maycommunicate a request through a port of the intermediate device to thecontent service provider 90 illustrated in FIG. 2 in step 924. Thecontent may be provided through the communication network in step 926.In many cases, the content may be communicated in near real time or assoon as possible to the intermediate device. The content may also bequeued for later delivery to the intermediate device. That is, thecontent may not be communicated until enough requests for the contentmay be provided. In step 928, a response signal from the content serviceprovider 90 is illustrated in FIG. 2 . The response signal in step 928may also provide a time, transponder if applicable, and a communicationchannel or time. The intermediate device may store such subsequentlycommunicated content from the content service provider 90 in the contentstorage of the intermediate device 16, so subsequent requests for suchcontent from user devices can be served directly from the intermediatedevice 16, instead of needing to be acquired from the content serviceprovider 90 using a communication network.

The steps of directing and redirecting 914-922 make take place using adomain name server (DNS) associated with the web server of theintermediate device, and/or a web server associated with thecommunication system provider or the content service provider.

Referring now to FIG. 10 , a high level block diagrammatic view of asimplified system is set forth. Content in block 1010 may includemovies, video, audio, content sources, websites, data, etc. The contentmay also provide system information, automation information and controlinformation. Various types of content are provided to a packetization,sequencing and scheduling rule module 1012. The packetization,sequencing and scheduling rules are used to fill a plurality of datacarousels 1014 with data and communicate the content to fulfill theschedule. The scheduling rules may provide the data carousel 1014 withtime periods for broadcasting using the remnant capacity of varioustypes of delivery paths. A plurality of delivery paths 1016 such assatellite broadcasting over the air, ATSC broadcasting, cablebroadcasting and the like may be used for communicating content,including prioritizing use of one such delivery path 1016 for deliveryof certain data carousels 1014 or certain content within a data carousel1014 over use of another such delivery path 1016 for delivery of theother carousels 1014 or content. Various capture rules 1018 are used tocapture the captured data 1020 at various reception devices orintermediate devices 1022A-1022N. The capture rules may be communicatedas control content from block 1010. That is, various capture rulesincluding the content to be captured, the time to be captured, atransponder to be captured from, and other data may be used as thecapture rules. The intermediate devices 1022A-1022N may be intermediatedevices as described above. The intermediate devices 1022A-1022N fordifferent customers may be programmed differently. That is, theintermediate devices 1022A-1022N may have different capture rules andeach intermediate device may capture different captured data 1020.

The intermediate devices 1022A-1022N are collectively referred to as anintermediate device 1022. Each intermediate device 1022 may haveprocessor logic 1032 therein. An access interface 1034 allows theintermediate device 1022 to access various interfaces for receiving andtransmitting data therefrom. A data storage device 1036 stores datawithin the reception devices for eventual playout at a content displaydevice 1040. The content display device may be communicated to theintermediate device 1022 using a connection 1042. The connection 1042may be a network connection or a direction connection. The connection1042 may, for example, be a home network, a Wi-Fi network, an HDMIcable, a USB cable, Bluetooth or the like.

The intermediate device 1022 may also use a user interface device 1051for generating a back channel 1052 to control the content that isprovided from the content service provider 90 or the communicationsystem provider 12. The user interface device 1050 may be various typesof devices such as a remote control, a smartphone or the like. The backchannel 1052 may be an internet path, a phone path or various othertypes of wired or wireless paths. The back channel may be through one ofthe communication networks 14 or 14′. A return satellite path may alsobe used. The back channel may also use the remnant capacity of one ofthe types of terrestrial networks described above. For example, theremnant capacity of an LTE system may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 11 , a satellite broadcast implementation 1110 isset forth. Various uplink sites 1112A and 1112B may be used foruplinking content to a satellite. The uplink sites generate uplinksignals 1114A, 1114B. The uplink signals 1114A, 1114B are received by asatellite 1116 through a first receiving antenna 1118A and a secondreceiving antenna 1118B. The first antenna 1118A may correspond to afirst frequency band B and the second antenna 1118B may correspond to asecond frequency band A. A plurality of receivers 1120A and 1120Breceive the uplink signals 1114A and 1114B where they are converted to adifferent frequency for transmission through the satellite 1116 at thereceivers 1120A and 1120B. Amplifiers 1122 amplify the signals. Theamplifiers 1122 may be travelling wave tube amplifiers. A plurality ofcombiners 1124A and 1124B combine the signals from the variousamplifiers for transmission through downlink antennas 1125A, 1125B thatgenerate downlink signals 1126A and 1126B. The downlink signals 1126Aand 1126B may be frequency and geographic dependent. That is, variousfrequencies may be used in adjacent signals so that interference betweenthe downlink signals 1126A and 1126B is not formed. Various user sitesthat represent intermediate devices or other user devices 1128A and1128B receive various chains from the downlink signals received by thedownlink antennas 1130A and 1130B. The antennas 1130A and 1130B may betracking antennas for tracking the positions of the satellites if middleor lower orbit satellites are used. Certainly, remnant capacity ofgeostationary satellites may be used so that tracking antennas are notrequired.

Referring now to FIG. 12 , the ground tracks of the system relative tothe Earth 1220 are illustrated in further detail. In this example, aground track 1210A has a first satellite Satellite 1, a second satelliteSatellite 2 and a third satellite Satellite 3. A second ground track1210B has a fourth satellite Satellite 4, a fifth satellite Satellite 5and sixth satellite Satellite 6. A third ground track 1210C has aseventh satellite Satellite 7, an eighth satellite Satellite 8 and aninth satellite Satellite 9. The satellites 1-9 may be used in aninitial deployment of the satellite system. Satellites 10, 11 and 12 maybe added to further expand the operating characteristics of the system.The ground traces are formed by inclined orbital satellite systems. Thesatellite system is a non-geostationary orbit satellite system withgeosynchronous periods that can cover two north-south zones. Byproviding higher elevation angles for the ground terminals, bettercoverage and more constant coverage for the ground served by thesatellites is provided. Frequencies used for uplinking and downlinkingmay be portions of the Ka and Ku bands. Both right hand circularlypolarized and left hand circularly polarized antennas may be used forboth transmitting and receiving. By providing three sets of groundtraces as illustrated in FIG. 12 , three different regions of the Earthcan be covered. In an initial deployment, Satellites 1-3 may be used tocover both North America and South America. Eastern Asia and Australiamay be covered with Satellites 4-6. Africa and Europe may be coveredwith Satellites 7-9. However, should the capacity or desired maximumelevation angle require the additional satellites, satellites 10-12 maybe added to the system.

Referring now to FIG. 13 , the ground trace 1210A is illustrated infurther detail. A geostationary protective zone of 15° north and southof the equator may be provided so that interference with othersatellites is not present using the system. Two different areas northand south of the equator can be served by positioning the threesatellites in the illustrated configuration. Angle α is 90° when theorbit eccentricity is zero in a circular orbit. To provide a physicalseparation for geostationary satellites at the equator, the eccentricityis no zero and therefore the angle α is not 90°. With increasing theeccentricity, the ground track can be tilted northwest, southeast ornortheast-southwest to vary the degrees of optimization coverage. Theequator is represented as line 1310 in FIG. 13 . As the satellitestraverse the orbit, one satellite is rising while the other is settingin each of the upper hemisphere and lower hemisphere.

Referring now to FIG. 14A, the elevation angle with respect to time forfour different cities such as Seattle, San Diego, Portland and Miami isset forth. The time period takes place over 500 minutes and, as can beseen, the elevation angle at any time in any of the four cities is above40°. In further areas illustrated in FIG. 14B, Hawaii, Anchorage, Ak.,Fairbanks, Ak. and Puerto Rico have elevation angles above 20° for mostof the time. The switching between different satellites as one is risingand the other is setting is called handover. Handover may occur tomaintain minimal elevation angle. When a fourth satellite is added,minimum elevation angles may be maintained for both the northern andsouthern hemispheres. The satellite antennas associated with this systemwill be programmed to switch from one satellite to another satellite.Switching should also not be a problem for the receiver since the systemis providing non-real-time service.

Referring now to FIG. 15 , the cell tower 42, the antennas 44 and thecell control module 1510 associated therewith are illustrated in furtherdetail. The antenna 44 may actually be a plurality of antennas. Theantennas 44 may be disposed in panels and thus face in variousdirections to provide spatial diversity. The antennas 44 may also be acombination of transmitting antennas, receiving antennas for the LTEsystem. The system may also include a wireless or Wi-Fi antenna fortransmitting and receiving wireless or Wi-Fi signals. The signals underthe wireless or Wi-Fi system may be used for return signals from thevarious intermediate devices. The system may thus include a LTE receiver1512, a wireless network or Wi-Fi system 1514, a unicast celltransmitter 1516, and an LTE-B broadcast transmitter 1518. The celltransmitter 1516 may also act as a receiver for receiving signals fromthe back haul 1520. The back haul 1520 may return signals to the systemfor analysis and request purposes. The back haul 1520 may thencommunicate the signals to the communication system provider or thecontent service provider.

The cell tower 42 may also have an intermediate device 1530 associatedtherewith. The intermediate device 1530 may be configured in a similarmanner to that described above. In this case, however, the Wi-Fi system1514 both transmits and receives signals and forms a Wi-Fi network withthe various intermediate devices within its transmitting area. Theintermediate device 1530 may also have a content storage 1532 and otherassociated circuitry of the intermediate device described above. Thecontent storage 1532 may receive content from the communication systemprovider. The Wi-Fi system 1514 may be formed using LTE, 5G or othersuitable technology.

Referring now to FIG. 16 , the dongle 340 illustrated in FIG. 3 is setforth in further detail. The dongle 340 may include a port interface1610 which is used for communicating with a port in the connecteddevice. That is, the port interface 1610 may use a standard such as USBor HDMI. The port interface 1610 is coupled to a controller 1612. Thecontroller 1612 may control various aspects of the dongle. Thecontroller 1612 may be in communication with a user interface controlmodule 1614. The user interface control module 1614 may be used forgenerating user interfaces through the port interface 1610 and on thescreen of the attached user device. A user interface storage 1616provides data for forming the graphics associated with the userinterface. The wireless receiver/transmitter 1620 is coupled to thecontroller 1612. The wireless receiver/transmitter 1620 may receivecontent from or through the local area network in which the dongle 340is associated. The wireless receiver/transmitter 1620 may also transmitfeedback signals through the local area network to the communicationsystem provider or the content service provider. The received contentmay be stored by the controller 1612 in a content storage 1624.

Referring now to FIG. 17 , a representation of the carousel servers 620is set forth. In this example, the carousel servers are represented byCarousel 1, Carousel 2 and Carousel 3. A controller 1710 is coupled toeach of the carousel servers. A timing module 1712 is used forcontrolling the timing associated with the carousel. The timing may be arepetition rate for each of the carousel servers or the bit rate. Thatis, the amount that the carousel repeats a particular piece of contentmay be changed by the timing module. Carousel 1, Carousel 2 and Carousel3 may all have different repetition rates for the content therein. Theamount of throughput of each of the carousel servers may also bechanged. A parameter input 1714 may be used to adjust the timing module.The amount of use or popularity of the content may be used to adjust thetiming module 1712. Various other parameter inputs such as priority maybe used to adjust the timing of the carousels based on the timingmodule. For example, emergency alert notifications may have a higherpriority or higher repetition rate. Critical software updates andinstant replays may also have a high repetition rate due to a highpriority. A full length movie may have a lower repetition rate. Asmentioned above the repetition rate may also be changed based on amonetary value assigned to the content.

The controller 1710 may also present the Carousel 2 with various chunksof data using the chunk module 1716. The chunk module 1716 may break thecontent up into chunks which comprise a plurality of packets. Each ofthe chunks may be the same in size or may vary in size. Chunks of thecontent are provided to each of the carousel servers. Anantenna/interface 1720 may be coupled to each of the carousel serversfor communicating the content to the communication system provider. Thecommunication system provider may then communicate the content to theintermediate devices.

Referring now to FIG. 18 , a method for controlling the parametersassociated with the carousel servers illustrated in FIG. 17 is setforth. In step 1810, the parameters associated with content such aspopularity, preferences, demographics, monetary value and behavioralactions may be communicated from the users to the content providers atthe content service provider. In step 1812, the parameters may beaggregated from the users or the content providers. The repetitionrates, bit rates and other timing parameters for the carousels aredetermined in step 1814. In step 1816, the content is communicated fromthe carousels at the predetermined repetition rate. The communicationmay be performed by broadcasting.

Referring now to FIG. 19 , a method of operating the communicationsystem provider is set forth. In step 1910, an amount of a wirelessresource or resources available are identified. The available resourcesmay be remnant capacity as described above. The amount of resourcesidentified as available may be currently available or may be forecastedto be available in the future. Depending on the communication systembeing used, the type of resources available may vary. However, in allcases, unused capacity is one available resource. The unused resourcefor a satellite may be bandwidth associated with one or moretransponders. If spot beams on a satellite are used, a spot beamresource not being fully utilized may also be the remnant capacity. Inan LTE system, when the LTE peak, regular capacity is not being fullyutilized, there may be bandwidth available for remnant capacity use. Forexample, LTE-B transmissions may be scheduled using the portion of theLTE system that is available for remnant capacity use. For an ATSC orATSC 3.0 digital television systems, the bandwidth used for broadcastinga channel may not require the entire channel for broadcasting. Excesscapacity within the digital channel may be used to communicate contentto various providers. In all systems, available frequencies, availabletime, available space spaced upon directional capacity, and availablecodes may form the remnant capacity.

Remnant capacity can be capacity available outside of the capacity thatis required to serve a similar type of traffic that is increasinglyserved during peak network use and served less-so during non-peaknetwork use. Remnant capacity can also be capacity available for contentpre-positioning at the intermediate devices and within their contentstorage and subsequent consumption of that content by users directlyfrom the intermediate devices, and which is not the capacity requiredfor real-time voice and data requests from users or for distribution ofcontent to users and for its immediate consumption. To identify remnantcapacity usage patterns of the “primary, non-remnant” network may bereviewed. Remnant capacity may be automatically identified on areal-time basis by receiving information as to the amount of networknot-being-consumed for “primary, non-remnant” use. The identifiedcapacity may be automatically provisioned for use as the remnantcapacity in response thereto. “Primary, non-remnant” capacity may run inparallel to “remnant” capacity use such that both are running across theentirety of the resource the entirety of the time but assigning a lowerQoS value or identifier to the remnant capacity use so that remnantcapacity is only used whenever such resources are not being used by ahigher QoS “primary, non-remnant” use such as cellular, televisionbroadcast, cable satellite and the like.

In step 1912, content is communicated to the communication systemprovider. Content may be communicated to the communication systemprovider from the content service provider or a content source, eitherbefore or after a resource is available. In step 1914, the content iscommunicated to the intermediate devices using the remnant capacity fromthe communication system provider. The content communicated ispre-positioned using remnant capacity, and thus is not communicated forreal time consumption or in response to a real-time voice or datarequest from an intermediate device. The content may be communicated invarious chunks which may not arrive in time or sequence for real-timeplayback from the intermediate device.

In step 1916, the content is stored within the intermediate device. Instep 1920, it is determined whether the resource is needed for pulltraffic, or traffic that is communicated for real time consumption or inresponse to a real-time voice or data request, or other communicationsinstead of for pre-positioning. This step may be performed on a periodicor regular basis so that if a resource is needed for pull traffic,including for customers demanding a resource for data, voice or othercommunications for immediate use, then it is made available for that. Ifthe resource is needed for primary service traffic or pull traffic, step1922 discontinues communicating content to the intermediate devicesusing the remnant capacity. In step 1920, if the resource is not neededfor primary service traffic or pull traffic, the content continues to bebroadcast using the remnant capacity in step 1924.

Referring now to FIG. 20 , a more detailed process for using remnantcapacity is set forth. In step 2020, the content to be provided to theintermediate devices is determined by the content service provider. Thecontent service provider may use various types of feedback from theintermediate devices including preferences such as favorites lists,popularity of content, demographics and behavior of the users associatedwith each of the intermediate devices. In step 2022, content iscommunicated to the communication system from a content provider or froma content service provider. This step may be performed at any time. Instep 2024, a query is generated at the content system provider todetermine whether remnant capacity is or will be available. The capacityquery is communicated to the communication system provider in step 2026.In step 2028, it is determined whether the communication system providerhas remnant capacity. The remnant capacity was described in FIG. 19 . Ifthere is no remnant capacity available, a response signal iscommunicated to the content system provider. The response signal isindicative of no capacity or remnant capacity being available. Thedetermined amount of remnant capacity available is used by thedistribution network to determine, for example, target throughput to aimfor—whether this is unicast or broadcast transmission.

In step 2028, if the communication system provider does have remnantcapacity, a content instruction signal for communicating the specifiedcontent to the communication system provider is performed in step 2032.The content instruction signal may specify predetermined content or maybe general for the next content that the content service provider wishesto communicate. In step 2034, content is provided to the communicationsystem provider. As mentioned above, content may be communicated atvarious times during the process. In step 2036, the content is stored atthe communication system provider.

In step 2038, the specified content is communicated to the intermediatedevice using the remnant capacity. The remnant capacity available at anypredetermined time might not fit an entire piece of content. That is,the content may be broken into chunks which are placed into the remnantcapacity time periods. For example, a high definition movie is about twogigabytes. However, the amount of remnant capacity may only be availablein kilobyte or megabyte sized time slots. Therefore, the content may bebroken down into chunks and filled with the content.

In step 2040, the specified content is received and stored at theintermediate device. Once the content is stored in the intermediatedevice, step 2042 is performed in which the content is selected orrequested by a user device associated with the intermediate device. Instep 2044, the content is communicated from the intermediate device tothe user device in real time upon request. Because the content is onlystored in the intermediate device, communication through a local areanetwork or wireless area network or through a direct connection may beperformed. In step 2046, the content is displayed at a displayassociated with the requesting user device.

Referring now to FIG. 21 , details of communicating content to anintermediate device is set forth. In step 2110, content to be providedto the intermediate devices is determined at the content provider. Thecontent provider may provide content based upon the element describedabove such as the popularity, the preferences, the demographics and thebehavior of the various users at the intermediate device. Recommended orspecial content may also be selected.

In step 2112, the content is communicated to the content systemprovider. In step 2114, the determination whether remnant capacity isavailable is determined. In step 2116, a schedule for contentavailability at the communication system provider is generated. Theschedule determines the time and the resource to be used forcommunicating the content. The time may be a common or universal timeused throughout the system such as a GPS-based time system. The otherresources used for communicating the content may depend upon the systemand may specify the frequency, the code associated with the system andthe transponder associated with the communication should a satellitesystem be used for communicating the content.

In step 2116, a schedule for content availability at the communicationsystem provider is set forth. The schedule provides the contentavailability at the communication system provider. In a sense, theschedule provides a list of content and the time or times that thecontent will be communicated. As mentioned above, all of the content maynot be communicated in one large file. That is, the content may bebroken into chunks and the schedule for each of the chunks may beprovided. In step 2118, the content availability schedule iscommunicated to the intermediate device. By communicating the times andthe resources being used for the communication of content, theintermediate device may be easily tuned to the communication system forreceiving the content. In step 2120, the intermediate device is tuned orotherwise directed to the content so that it may be stored in accordancewith the schedule. The content is then made available to the individualusers associated with the intermediate device. In step 2122, anindicator associated with content stored at the intermediate device iscommunicated to the user devices associated with the intermediatedevice. The indicator may be communicated directly or may becommunicated in response to a query from the users.

Referring now to FIG. 22 , the prioritization of content may also beperformed when communicating the content to the intermediate device. Instep 2210, a content list is generated at the content service provider.In step 2212, the content list may be prioritized for delivery to theintermediate devices. The content list may be prioritized according tovarious aspects such as popularity of the content, preferences,demographics, and behavioral actions of the users and the time relevanceof the content. For example, weather content may be given a higherpriority than movie content. In step 2214, the content is communicatedto the communication system provider. A prioritized list may becommunicated in step 2216. Both the list and the content itself may becommunicated in response to query signals such as those set forth inFIG. 20 . In step 2218, it is determined whether remnant capacityexists. If remnant capacity does not exist, the system is then checkedfor remnant capacity. If remnant capacity does exist in step 2218, step2220 is performed. In step 2220, the content to be provided to theintermediate devices based upon the prioritized list is determined. Instep 2222, the prioritized content is communicated to the intermediatedevice.

Referring now to FIG. 23 , a method of prioritizing relative to thecommunication system traffic and priority is set forth. In step 2310,the traffic is prioritized at the communication system provider. Thatis, the communication system provider may provide various types ofservices and content including voice, data, notifications and the like.The different types of services and content may be assigned differentlevels of priority. As is described above, remnant capacity is capacitythat is unused. However, capacity that is being underutilized may beused for communicating content. Thus, a priority may be assigned tocommunicate content above some of the lesser categories of content.Further, a content provider may pay for content to be prioritized anddelivered on a priority basis. For example, a movie studio may pay morefor delivery of a certain movie. In step 2312, a prioritized contentlist may be received at the communication system provider. The priorityof the remnant capacity may be as described above. The remnant capacitymay be lower than the primary capacity of the system. As mentioned abovespace within the storage of the intermediate device and certain remnantcapacity may be made higher priority due to payment by a contentprovider.

Referring now to FIG. 24 , a method of providing a sports replay is setforth. In step 2410, a television viewing device is tuned to a sportingevent. The television viewing device may be a traditional television orone of a number types of devices that can receive television signalsthrough the internet or other types of broadcast network. In step 2412,a sports replay application may be activated on the user device on thetelevision viewing device. In step 2414, the activation signal iscommunicated to a service provider. The service provider may generate areplay video in step 2416. In step 2418, remnant capacity of thecommunication system is determined. In step 2420, a replay is scheduledduring the remnant capacity. The replay content may be prioritized at ahigh level for delivery, especially if the replay is for a currentlybroadcasting event. The replay may be scheduled and an intermediatedevice may be notified as to the time the replay will be delivered. Instep 2422, the intermediate device listens for the replay content to becommunicated. In step 2424, the replay content is communicated to theintermediate device. In step 2426, the replay content is stored in theintermediate device.

In step 2428, a user interface of the sports application may be updatedwhen replay content is stored within the intermediate device. The replaymay be selected in the user interface in step 2430. In step 2432, thereplay is retrieved from the intermediate device by the application atthe user device or television. In step 2434, the replay is displayed atthe user device or television viewing device.

Referring now to FIG. 25A, screen displays for accessing replays are setforth. A screen display 2510 is used for selecting a replay. A certainkey may be pressed for requesting a replay. The request for the replaymay communicate through a wired or wireless network. Ultimately, therequest is communicated to a content provider or replay clip provider toindicate that a replay is requested. The replay request may becommunicated with a time code and program identifier so that the replaymay be communicated to the intermediate device associated with the userdevice. The indicator 2512 instructs the user to select a particular keyfor replaying. Of course, should the device be a touchscreen device, atap of the screen may be all that is required.

Referring now to FIG. 25B, a screen indicator 2514 may be generated onthe screen display 2510. The screen display 2510 may continue to displaya sporting event or other event. When a requested replay arrives at theintermediate device, the intermediate device may send a replay availablesignal to the user device that requested the replay. The indicator 2514may instruct the user to select using a keyboard or the like forreplaying the replay.

In screen display 2510 of FIG. 25C, the replay may not need to berequested by a particular person or user device. Typically, in a popularsporting event, various plays are important and a centralized locationmay develop the replays without user input. Thus, a replay app may beprovided that may be accessed using various remote control keys or thelike. An indicator 2516 may be used to instruct the user to access theapp.

In FIG. 25D, the replay application or app may be accessed. The replayapp may be accessed using the screen displays illustrated in either FIG.25B or 25C or some other numerical or keypad combination associated withthe user device. The replay app generates a list 2520 with variousreplays that are accessible by the intermediate device. A select box2522 may be scrolled or moved with arrow keys on a remote control forselecting content for playback. Other numerical or alphanumericalcharacters may be entered into a remote control or keypad for playingback available replay content.

Referring now to FIG. 26 , the remnant content delivery system may alsobe used for delivering device, software and application updates that areassociated with the intermediate device or user devices associated withthe intermediate device. In step 2610, the device, software andapplications are associated with an intermediate device or device toform an inventory list. In step 2612, the inventory list may becommunicated to the content service provider. The inventory list mayalso include device identifiers, software identifiers and applicationidentifiers. The inventory list may also list the devices associatedwith the various software and applications. Although, this is not anecessary step. In step 2614, an optional step of associating thedevice, software and application updates with a priority level is setforth. The priority level may prioritize either high or low prioritiesfor the software, device and application updates. Critical securityupdates may, for example, be given a higher priority. In step 2615, thecontent provider or the communication network may synthesize all thecontent and software requirements for each intermediate device,including re-transmission or missing content requirements, andpriority-based software and update requirement. The system may thenweigh the individual requirements against what content is better to betransmitted and how to communicate it (unicast vs. broadcast), andadjust the timing. The prioritization or delivery method determinationmay also be based on the number of intermediate devices that require thecontent. A master queue of content scheduled to be broadcasted may thenbe developed. The content may be broadcasted in parallel to updating theintermediate devices about the type of content that is being scheduledto be broadcasted. In step 2616, the update data is communicated to theintermediate devices. In step 2618, the broadcasts from thecommunication system are monitored for relevant updates. That is, theintermediate device may monitor the broadcast. When the broadcastcorresponds to device updates, software updates or application updateson the inventory list may be stored within the intermediate device instep 2620. In step 2622, the user device may obtain a notification ormay check the intermediate device for available updates by comparing thelist to what is available. In step 2624, the update data is communicatedfrom the intermediate device to the user device. In step 2626, the userdevice is updated with the new software, software revision orapplication. During the update, a notice signal to the system regardingthe update being successfully executed or implemented may becommunicated to the intermediate device or content system provider toprevent further attempts to communicate the same data (update theinventory) and to provide a basis for obtaining the next revision fromthe communication system.

Referring now to FIG. 27A, a screen display for a grid guide 2710 is setforth. The grid guide 2710 illustrates a first virtual channel 2712 anda second virtual channel 2714. The first virtual channel 2712 isassociated with the first content provider 212A and the second virtualchannel 2714 is associated with the second content provider 212B. Thefirst content provider 212A and the second content provider 212B maycommunicate metadata with the content to control the arrangement in avirtual channel guide. The channel/content provider, the channeldisplay, screen display name and time may be communicated in themetadata. Although two virtual channels are illustrated, various numbersof virtual channels may be set forth. The guide 2710 includes timeindicators 2716 that are provided on a regular basis. In this example,every hour has a time indicator 2716. In this example, the contenttitles for content stored within the intermediate device are formed intotwo channels. The channels may be named in the channel column 2718. Inthis example, “Channel 1” and “Channel 2” are set forth.

Referring now to FIG. 27B, a virtual channel associated with a firstcontent provider is set forth. In this example, a plurality ofindicators, identifiers or posters 2750 are arranged in row. A “Movies”row 2752 and a “TV show” row 2754 are arranged to show television showindicators and movie indicators that are stored in the intermediatedevice that are associated with Channel 1 which corresponds to the firstcontent provider 212A. More than one channel may be associated with thecontent provider 212A, 212B. Each channel may be displayed separately.Metadata provided with the content may include channel and contentprovider indicators. By displaying the content stored within theintermediate device, users are directed to lower cost content with highcustomer satisfaction because the content is immediately available.

Referring now to FIG. 28 , a method for forming channel guide 2710 isset forth. In step 2810, a channel is associated with a content using achannel indicator and/or time or order indicator. These steps may beperformed in the intermediate device at the library guide/channel module874 illustrated in FIG. 8B. The association with a channel may be formedinto the metadata for each piece of content as a channel identifier.

In step 2812, a plurality of content is communicated to the intermediatedevice using remnant capacity with the channel indicator and time orderindicator provided within the metadata. In step 2814, the plurality ofcontent is organized in timed succession and channel according to themetadata associated therewith.

In step 2816, a program guide is generated from the intermediate devicethat comprises the content in channel and time order. In step 2818, theprogram guide is displayed at the device associated with theintermediate device. In this manner, all or most of the content providedin the channel may be indicated in the program guide. In this manner,having a plurality of content to choose from will allow the user toaccess the content more rapidly.

Referring now to FIG. 29 , a method for communicating content whereinitially only a portion is communicated to the intermediate device isset forth. In step 2910, a first portion of the content is communicatedusing the remnant capacity system as described above. The remnantcapacity may be used to broadcast a first portion. In step 2912, theremaining portion of the content is may be unicasted or broadcastedwithin a predetermined time. The predetermined time “X” may bedetermined based upon a statistical likelihood that the content will beviewed.

In an alternative, after a first portion of content is communicated tothe intermediate device in step 2910, step 2912 may determine whetherthe user is accessing the content. If the content is not being accessed,the system may ultimately broadcast the remaining portion as in step2912 or may terminate and not broadcast any of the remaining portions instep 2912. This decision would take into account whether other users areinterested in or are currently using the broadcast.

In step 2914, if the user is accessing a first portion of the content,step 2916 communicates a use signal from the intermediate device to acontent or system provider. After step 2916, two alternative choices maybe formed depending on the system requirements. In step 2918, theremaining content may be unicast using remnant capacity. This is usefulif the content is a large piece of content and it is likely that theremnant capacity could fulfill the remaining portion before the end ofthe content is watched. For example, the first 20% of a movie may bebroadcasted using remnant capacity. When the user begins viewing thecontent, the signal is generated in step 2916 and the remaining portionof the signal may be unicasted using remnant capacity. Broadcasting ofthe missing content may also be performed.

In the alternative, after step 2916 and a use signal is communicatedfrom the intermediate device to either the content or system provider,the remaining content may be communicated over an IP network in step2920. Presumably, this may happen when a slow internet connection isused by the user.

The additional content may also be obtained from a peer intermediatedevice. That is, after use is detected, it is determined whether or nota peer intermediate device has the remaining content. In step 2930, itis determined whether a peer intermediate device in the local areanetwork or adjacent local area networks has the content. In step 2932,the content is requested from a peer intermediate device by a requestingintermediate device. If the content is not available from a peerintermediate device, the content may be transmitted from thecommunication system or through an IP network. In step 2934, content iscommunicated from the peer intermediate device to the requestingintermediate device.

Various business cases uses may be implemented with the examples aboveincluding a cell or mobile device provider communicating content todevices on as a pay service or some type of bonus service.

As mentioned above various priorities may be assigned to the content.Content provided from a first content provider may have a priority overcontent from a second content provider. Higher priority may be paid forby a content provider. The carousel repletion rate or basic bit streamrate may be increased and decrease according to value. Further, theamount of storage space may be allocated to different content providerson a per amount basis. More amounts may be paid for by the contentprovider.

Referring now to FIG. 30 , a communication system 3010 such as aterrestrial cellular communication system is illustrated. In thisexample, many of the features set forth above are provided. In thisexample, the communication system may be an evolved media broadcast andmulti-cast service (eMBMS). The communication system 3010 has a systemcontroller 3012 that is in communication with a broadcast modecontroller 3013 and a unicast mode controller 3014. The broadcast modecontroller 3013 and the unicast controller 3014 are used to providevarious types of data to different users using different communicationformats and different portions of the overall system capacity. That is,a first portion of the overall system capacity may be assigned tobroadcast mode and a second portion of the overall system capacity tounicast mode. In this example, a first user device 3020 receives contentin real time for real time consumption. Real time consumption occurs atthe same time as when the user requests to consume the first data. Thedata may be a web page, video, audio or various other types of data.

The communication system 3010 communicates wirelessly through an antenna3022 to an antenna 3024 of the first user device 3020. Of course,multiple antennas, multi-segmented antennas may be used but are beyondthe scope of this disclosure.

An intermediate device 3026, also having an antenna 3028, receiveswireless communications from the communication system 3010. Theintermediate device 3026 may be in communication with a second userdevice 3030 also wirelessly through an antenna 3032. Of course, thesecond user device 3030 may incorporate the intermediate device 3026 ormay be connected in a wired fashion.

A third user device 3036 is coupled to the communication system 3010wirelessly through an antenna 3038.

The second user device 3030 and the third user device 3036 may bedevices that are using the first data or other data communicated fromthe communication system 3010 in a non-real time manner. The first userdevice 3020 receives and consumes data in real time. Non-real timeconsumption is the use of the content at some time later or at a secondtime which is after the content is received and stored within thedevice. Both the second user device 3030 and the third user device 3036store content therein or receive content from the intermediate device3026 which stores the content, then provides the content to either thesecond user device 3030 or the third user device 3036. The communicationsystem 3010 may use various formats such as LTE or 5G communications toprovide data to the different users.

In prior systems, when users request data for real-time consumption, therequests are fulfilled by unicast transmissions. The unicasttransmissions occupy spectrum resources that are not used to serve otherusers, since wireless transmissions are omni-directional or sectorizedbut in all cases are not truly 1-to-1 for each user. That is, unicasttransmissions are used to relay the content for real-time consumption toa specific requesting user device, but during that time the unicasttransmissions preclude other users from receiving other content forreal-time consumption. Further, broadcast transmissions can be used tocommunicate content to user devices but are at a disadvantage spectrallywhen compared to unicast transmissions, since broadcast transmissions donot have the ability to optimize the transmission beams with regard to agiven user and instead have to relay information to all users but basedon the worst receiving user's ability to receive the signal—typically,the higher spectral efficiency of unicast transmissions is on the orderof 50-1000% than that of broadcast transmissions as a result. However,the broadcast format may have advantage when providing the same contentto various user devices such as the first user device, the second userdevice (or intermediate device) and the third user device, especially incases when there are more than 50-1,000% more users than the first userwhich would benefit from having this request be received by theirdevices as well. To date, this advantage has been realized for real-timeconsumption of the same content by many users at the same time. That is,one broadcast can address real-time consumption needs of multiple usersat once. However, this advantage can be carried over for non-real-timeconsumption at a future time by the second user device (or intermediatedevice) and the third user device, using the remnant capacity of atransmission which is otherwise used to serve a real-time consumptionrequest of the first user device, by deliberately using a broadcasttransmission instead of a unicast transmission so that the same contentrequested by the first user device for real-time consumption can bedelivered to the second user device (or intermediate device) and thethird user device for non-real-time consumption in the future. That is,when content is broadcasted to a first user device, the remnant capacityof the transmission, which is typically unused by other user devices ifits unicasted, may be instead used for communicating the same content toother user devices for non-real-time consumption. This same content isreceived and stored for play back in non-real time by the other devices.Because other user devices other than the first device (requestingdevice) normally ignore broadcasts, the other users do not request orconsume in real-time, or the transmissions are unicast (leaving the sametransmission signal being received by the first user for real-timeconsumption, unused by the other users or remnant, since the signal isomnidirectional or sectorized and is in fact also received by such otherusers (but is unusable by them), the under-used capacity of thebroadcast signal may be referred to as remnant capacity. The otherdevices in the system such as the intermediate device 3026, the seconduser device 3030, and the third user device 3036 are enabled to receivebroadcast data not specifically directed to them. As will be describedin more detail below, by providing broadcast transmission of data, ananalysis may take place at the communication system 3010 as to how manyusers may benefit, the popularity of the content in the request and thelikelihood that the cost of serving those users using unicasttransmissions at a future time will be greater than the cost of using abroadcast transmission versus a unicast transmission at the currenttime. A first relative cost of communicating the first data using thebroadcast mode for real-time consumption and the remnant capacity of thebroadcast mode for non-real-time consumption inclusive of the costs ofreceiving and storing the first data as well as the likelihood of thefirst data being used for real-time consumption in the future directlyfrom storage or over another network, and a second relative cost ofcommunicating the first data using the unicast mode for real-timeconsumption and serving subsequent user requests for the first data forreal-time consumption in the future using the unicast mode of the samenetwork once again, may also be determined.

As will be described below, the second user device 3030 and third userdevice 3036 may receive the first data that is broadcasted in broadcastmode but is directed to a first user device. The communication system3010 decides whether to communicate the content to the first user deviceusing a broadcast mode through the broadcast mode controller 3013 orthrough a unicast mode through a unicast mode controller 3014. When thebroadcast mode controller 3013 is chosen, the system allows the remnantof the broadcast signal to be used by the second user device 3030 andthe third user device 3036 to receive the signal for non-real-timeconsumption, including storing the first data, and then serving thefirst data for real-time consumption in the future.

Referring now to FIG. 31 , a block diagrammatic view of the systemcontroller 3012 is set forth. The system controller 3012 as describedabove includes a decision determination module 3110. The decisiondetermination module 3110 is used to decide whether the broadcast modecontroller 3013 or the unicast mode controller 3014 is to be used tocommunicate the data in a broadcast mode or a unicast mode. As mentionedbriefly above, the decision determination module 3110 is used fordeciding whether to communicate in a unicast mode or a broadcast mode.The decision determination module 3110 uses a unicast system monitor3112 and a broadcast system monitor 3114 to monitor the respectivesystems. That is, the unicast system monitor 3112 monitors the unicastmode controller 3112 and the unicast communications communicatedtherethrough. Likewise, the broadcast system monitor 3114 monitors thebroadcast signals communicated through the broadcast mode controller3013. Both the unicast system monitor 3112 and the broadcast systemmonitor 3114 monitors the amount of traffic being communicated througheach of the respective systems. The amount of traffic corresponds to theamount of spectrum used for each of the systems.

A traffic prediction module 3116 is used to forecast an amount oftraffic likely to be used in the system in a subsequent time to thedetermination. Various factors such as the location of the system, theday and the time of day may be used for such determination. For example,a cell site close to a freeway or interstate may be more highly usedduring morning rush hour and evening rush hour. During the middle of theday, lighter traffic around the cell tower may correspond to lighterusage of the data systems. During morning or evening rush hours, thesystem may be utilized quite extensively. Over time, various trafficpatterns may be used for the predictions.

A user preference module 3118 communicates a user preference signal tothe decision determination module 3110. The user preference module 3118may provide user data for users of the first data. The system may haveusers that merely use one type of data in particular. A user in-areapreference module 3120 may provide the decision determination module3110 with user preferences in the specific area for which the data isrequested to be communicated to the first user device. The data providedto the decision determination module 3110 may be more specific to theactual users in the area, whereas data from the user preference module3118 may be specific to users of the entire system that are notnecessarily in a similar geographic area as in the data provided by theuser in-area preference module 3120.

The popularity of content module 3122 may provide a signal correspondingto the popularity of various types of content or data. A numerical valuemay be assigned to content to indicate the level of popularity for thespecific content. The popularity of content module 3122 may bedetermined in an overall system manner by monitoring an audiencemeasurement module 3124. The audience measurement module 3124 maygenerate a signal corresponding to the amount of users requesting aparticular piece of content or data in the overall system. A marketingmodule 3126 is used for providing marketing feedback to the popularityof content module 3122. The marketing module 3126 may have a human inputto adjust or provide a signal that corresponds to the predicted orforecasted amount of content or data. For example, if a very popularmovie that was a blockbuster at the box office is going to be released,the marketing module 3126 may assign a high level of popularity to theparticular content. Further, a data scheduling module 3127 may bereviewed to determine the priority assigned to a content fornon-real-time consumption deliveries, as well as the number of userswith such priorities, to generate a signal on the level of importancethat a given data be communicated using broadcast, for remnant broadcastreceipt for non-real-time consumption by the other users in order toavoid needing to transmit this same content for non-real-time deliveriesin the future. The popularity of the content determined by the audiencemeasurement module 3124 and the marketing module 3126, as well as thelikelihood and importance of that content being delivered to other usersin the future by the data scheduling module 3127, are factored togetherin the popularity of content module 3122 and provided in a popularsignal to the decision determination module 3110. A high level ofpopularity, for example, may cause the decision determination module3110 to communicate the content to the first user device 3020 usingbroadcast instead of unicast, and cause the intermediate device 3026 toreceive the remnant broadcast for non-real-time consumption, by storingthe broadcasted content for real-time consumption in the future by otheruser devices such as the second user device 3030 and the third userdevice 3036. The content may also be communicated using remnantbroadcast directly to the third user device 3036 for direct storagetherein.

A download measurement module 3130 may also be used by the decisiondetermination module 3110 while the audience measurement 3124 may beused to monitor the amount of use of a particular content, the downloadmeasurement module 3130 may measure the number of downloads requestedwithin the system. Through various menus or structures, the users in thesystem may also select content to be eventually downloaded. This datamay be obtained by the download measurement module 3130 and provided tothe decision determination module 3110.

A cost determination module 3132 provides a signal corresponding to thecost of using one type of mode versus another type of mode ofcommunication of first data or first content. For example, the costdetermination module 3132 may determine the cost now and in the futurefor broadcasting or unicasting a particular content through thebroadcast mode controller 3013 and the unicast mode controller 3014. Theanalysis of cost may use data from the other modules 3112 to 3130 todetermine the cost. That is, the system status (traffic, usage) from theunicast system monitor 3112, the system status (traffic, usage) of theunicast and broadcast systems may be used in a cost determination.Likewise user preferences, preferences of users in the area, popularityof the content and actual downloads already performed and also downloadsrequested, may also be factored into the present and future cost ofbroadcasting and unicasting options. The cost determination module 3132may also be used to determine the spectral efficiency of a unicasttransmission and a broadcast transmission. For example, the costdetermination module 3132 may provide a signal that provides thelikelihood that the cost of serving customers using a unicast modetransmission at the current time for real-time consumption by a customerand unicast mode transmissions at a future time for real-timeconsumption by other customers at that future time, will be greater thanthe cost of using a broadcast transmission for real-time consumption bya customer at the current time, with remnant broadcast capacity use fornon-real-time consumption by the other customers.

Referring now to FIG. 32 , a portion of the control for a user device3210 is set forth. The user device 3210 may be one or more of the firstuser device 3020, the intermediate device 3026, the second user device3030 and the third user device 3036. Signals may be received andtransmitted to the user device 3210 through an antenna 3212 which is incommunication with a transmitter/receiver 3214. The receiver portion ofthe transmitter/receiver 3214 receives the signal from the antenna 3022described above. The user device 3210 includes a download determinationmodule 3220 that determines whether the user device 3210 should downloada particular piece of content. When a piece of content or data isrequested for real time consumption, the download determination module3220 receives the data or content and allows the playback of the contentthrough a playback module 3222. The playback module 3222 is incommunication with a display 3224 for displaying the content. Thedisplay 3224 may be an audio display, a video display or a combinationof both.

The download determination module 3220 may also determine whether todownload content and store the content into an intermediate data storagedevice 3230. The intermediate data storage device 3230 may be a harddrive or a solid state drive. The intermediate data storage device 3230stores content for non-real time consumption. The intermediate datastorage device 3230 has a limited amount of capacity and thus thedownload determination module 3220 may selectively determine the contentto be stored within the intermediate data storage 3230. The downloaddetermination module is in communication with an available storagemodule 3232 that provides an indication as to the amount of data storageavailable in the intermediate data storage device 3230.

A memory manager 3234 may be used to manage the content within theintermediate data storage device 3230. That is, data may be removed fromthe intermediate data storage device 3230 when content is deemed to bestale or expired. The memory manager 3234 may be coupled to a timer 3236that provides a time indication to the intermediate data device and thememory manager 3234 when an amount of data is to be removed. Forexample, when data has been stored within the intermediate data storagedevice 3230 and more than one week or two weeks has passed, the data maybe removed from the intermediate data storage device 3230. Of course,different amounts of time may be provided for different types ofcontent.

A memory manager 3234 may also be coupled to a Purge Schedule Module3241, which in contrast to the User Preferences Module below may dictatethe least desired content for a user all the way up to the most desiredcontent for a user within the intermediate data storage device 3230. Asnew content is delivered, the memory manager 3234 may consult the PurgeSchedule Module 3241 in order to identify which data to remove firstbased on its rank in the Purge Schedule Module 3241 to free up theadequate intermediate data storage to store the new content delivered.

User preference module 3240 may also be used to determine whether tostore data within the intermediate data storage device 3230. Allbroadcast data may be monitored using the transmitter/receiver 3214.When various user preferences in the user preferences module 3240indicate the user is likely to enjoy the content, or that content hasbeen scheduled for delivery to such user in the future, or even that theimportance of the content being received over broadcast is higher forthat user than the content already resident on the user device andslated to be deleted whenever higher priority content for that userarrives, such content or data may be stored within the intermediate datastorage device 3230. The download determination module 3220 may commandthe transmitter/receiver 3214 to receive the content and store the datawithin the intermediate data storage device 3230. The user preferencesmodule 3240 may monitor other types of content that had been used at theuser device 3210 to make a determination as to the preferences andcontent that the user of the device may like or enjoy.

The user selections module 3242 is used to communicate selections to thedownload determination module 3220. The user selections module 3242 maycommand the storage of content that is requested by a user. A user mayuse a menu structure to select different content or data and explicitlyrequest a content. Some content may be immediately delivered for realtime consumption such as that described with respect to the first userdevice 3020 described above. Other types of content may be stored in theintermediate data storage 3230 for non-real time consumption. Once aparticular content or data is communicated by the communication system3010, data may be stored within the intermediate data storage afterbeing received at the transmitter/receiver 3214. In particular, thebroadcast mode may be monitored, as mentioned above, and when a contenttitle or data is being broadcasted in broadcast mode, the downloaddetermination module 3220 may download and store the content within theintermediate data storage device.

A stored content list 3244 may be used by the download determinationmodule 3220 to prevent the same content from being stored in the storagedevice 3230, and if the downloaded content is the same as content in thestored content list 3244 then such content may be ignored. The userpreferences module 3240 may also be used by the download determinationmodule 3220, in conjunction with the stored content list 3244, todetermine if content similar or related to content stored may be deemedmore desirable to be stored in the storage device 3230 and storedinstead of the existing content in the stored content list 3244.

Referring now to FIG. 33 , a method for operating the system is setforth. In step 3310, first content or data is requested by a first userdevice. The first user device may use a touch screen interface, voiceselection or other type of user interface for requesting content. Instep 3312, it is determined whether the first content is desirable forother users. If the first content or data is not desirable for otherusers in step 3312, step 3314 communicates the first content using aunicast mode.

In step 3320, the cost effectiveness for broadcast transmission of thefirst content or data is determined as described above relative to thecost determination module 3132. The capacity efficiency is part of thecost in determining whether to unicast or broadcast content. A firstrelative cost of communicating the data using the remnant capacity ofthe broadcast mode and a second relative cost of receiving and storingthe first data may be determined.

In step 3322, the cost is compared to a cost threshold. When the cost isgreater than a cost threshold as determined in step 3320, step 3314 isagain performed. The cost threshold may be set by design parameters ofthe system. In this example, the cost threshold corresponds to one modeof communication versus another. A lower cost for broadcasting versusunicasting will result in the use of broadcasting as described below.

In step 3322, when the cost is less than a threshold, a decision may bemade to broadcast the content or data using a broadcast mode rather thancommunicate the content or data in a unicast mode. In step 3324, thefirst content or data is communicated to the first user device using abroadcast mode. In step 3326, the first content or data is received atthe first device and is immediately consumed or played back in realtime. That is, the first content or data is consumed at the same time aswhen the user receives the content. In step 3330, the first content isreceived at an intermediate device or the second device. The firstcontent is broadcasted to the first user device as intended. Theremaining portion of the broadcast signal may referred to as remnantcapacity because it is an underused resource, and may have been used totransmit the first content to be received at an intermediate device orthe second device. In step 3332, a storage determination is performed atthe intermediate device or the second user device (or the third userdevice). As mentioned above, various data may be used by the system inorder to determine whether or not storage within the intermediate deviceis desirable. In step 3336, content is stored at the intermediate deviceor within the third user device.

In step 3338, content from the intermediate device is played back at thesecond user device or the third user device at a future time, which isnot the same as the current time. A request signal or selection signalmay be generated at the second user device or the third user device.Content is displayed on a display in response to a selection signal.

Referring now to FIG. 34 , a communication system 3408 that includes abroadcast television network system 3410 is set forth. The broadcasttelevision network system 3410 is used to broadcast television contentto television devices 3412 through an over-the-air antenna 3414. Thebroadcast television content is not protected in any way and can bereceived by anyone with an over the air tuner and the proper antenna.Digital content such as Internet based data (IP data) and televisioncontent may also be communicated through the over-the-air antenna 3414as a distinct service. The content may be broadcasted or unicasted tosubscribers of the service in a protected manner. Advanced TelevisionSystems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 or other digital standards may be used forcommunicating the digital content. As will be described in more detailbelow, the broadcast television network system 3410 has an over-the-airspectrum capacity that has been allocated thereto for the communicationof free to access television signals to television devices 3412. Asmentioned above, the over-the-air spectrum capacity has a first portionfor linear over-the-air broadcasting content that is communicated inreal time to the television devices 2412. A second portion of theover-the-air spectrum capacity corresponds to dormant capacity that isunused by the first portion that broadcasts linear over-the-airbroadcasting content.

A dormant capacity estimator 3420 is in communication with the broadcasttelevision network system. The dormant capacity estimator 3420 usesnetwork capacity report signals 3422 that communicate capacity usagereports from the broadcast television network system 3410 to the dormantcapacity estimator 3420. The dormant capacity 3420 estimates whethercontent delivery using the dormant capacity is possible and determines atarget throughput for content distribution. The dormant capacityestimator 3420 continually or periodically determines the dormantcapacity corresponding to the second portion of the over-the-airspectrum capacity. In this example, the dormant capacity estimator 3420is part of the television network operator domain 3424.

A content distribution network (CDN) system 3430 is in communicationwith a dormant capacity estimator 3420 and communicates a dormantcapacity data signal 3432 to the content distribution network system3430. The content distribution network system 3430 has a memory andservers to receive and communicate data and content. The dormantcapacity data allows the content distribution network system 3430 todetermine the amount of data and content that can be sent through thebroadcast television network system 3410 using the dormant capacity ofthe over-the-air spectrum capacity. The content distribution networksystem 3430, in this example, is also part of the television networkoperator domain 3424.

A third party content provider 3440 having a central content store 3442may be used to communicate content signals 3442 to the contentdistribution network system. The third party content provider 2440 is aseparate entity than the television network operator domain 3424. Thethird party content provider provides the digital content to bedistributed to users. Of course, the television network operator domain3424 may also include the central content store 3442. The centralcontent store 3442 may be used for content or data that users arewilling to view in a time-shifted format. Live sporting events, forexample, are examples of content that are typically not suitable forviewing in a time-shifted format. Typically, content for non-real-timetime-shifted viewing includes movies, television shows, news items anddocumentaries. Of course, other new and innovative services forproviding data and content may be provided by such a system.

The content distribution network 3430 may have a factor module 3446coupled thereto. The factor module 3446 may take into considerationvarious factors when deciding which content to distribute to thebroadcast television network system and when to distribute the contentto the broadcast television network system 3410. Such factors will bedescribed in further detail below. Some factors that may be consideredby the factor module 3446 include, but are not limited to, the userpreferences, a watch list of the users, service provider priorities, thepopularity level of the content, the radio performance of the broadcasttelevision network and the location of the intermediate storage devices.

The content distribution network system 3430 communicates content suchas data or television content using content signal 3448 to the broadcasttelevision network system 3410 for communication through theover-the-air broadcast television network system 3410. The broadcasttelevision network system 3410 communicates to one or more intermediatestorage devices 3450 through an over-the-air link 3452. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the content may be broadcasted to aplurality of intermediate storage devices 3450 or may be unicasted toone particular intermediate storage device. The intermediate storagedevice 3450 caches the content and data for eventual use by one or moreend user devices 3454 that is ultimately communicated through a locallink 3456 such as a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. Although only oneintermediate storage device 3450 is illustrated, a number ofintermediate storage devices 3450 are likely to be used in acommunication system 3408. Further the intermediate storage devices 3450may be in a fixed location or may be mobile.

An alternative network 3458 is used as a reverse link 3460 forcommunicating signals to the content distribution network system 3430.The alternative network 3458 is different that the broadcast televisionnetwork system 3410. The alternative network 3458 is used as an uplinkor reverse link 3460 to communicate return signals to the contentdistribution network system 3430. The content distribution networksystem 3430 may receive the reverse link signals 3460 from theintermediate storage device 3450 that corresponds to the amount ofcontent that is actually received by the intermediate storage device3450. This may correspond to the volatility of the broadcast televisionnetwork system 3410. The efficiency of the conditions of theintermediate storage device reception may also be provided.

The alternative network 3458 also allows the factor module 3446 of thecontent distribution network to obtain data. For example, individualusers of the end user devices, 3454 may provide user preferences to theintermediate storage device 3450. The preferences may then becommunicated from the intermediate storage device 3450 to thealternative network 3458 using the reverse link 3460 that provides theuser preferences to the content distribution network system 3430. Awatch list may also be provided. A popularity level based upon theamount of request from various user devices may also be determined atthe factor module 3446. Of course, a dedicated popularity system 3462may also provide the popularity of various content to the contentdistribution network system 3430.

The alternative network 3458 may also be used to communicate thelocation of the intermediate storage device 3450 and the end userdevices 3454. The locations of the intermediate storage 3450 and the enduser devices 3454 are provided to the content distribution networksystem 3430 through the reverse link 3460.

An application 3464 located within the end user device 3454 may be usedto obtain the user preference, watch list information and the set-up bythe user which is ultimately communicated through the local link 3456 tothe intermediate storage device 3450.

In this example, the intermediate storage device 3450 is operated by thetelevision network operator domain 3424. In other examples, theintermediate storage device is outside of the television networkoperator domain. The content distribution network system 3430 may alsobe in communication with an authentication system 3466 which is used forauthenticating intermediate storage devices and may also be used forauthenticating end user devices as well. Passwords and hashes and othersecurity measures may be used in this process.

The content distribution network system 3430 may also be incommunication with a billing system 3468. The billing system 3468 may beused to bill individual users for content that is consumed. As will bedescribed, the content distribution network system 3430 may receivefeedback based upon the consumption of content to provide consumptiondata to the various individual content providers so that appropriatecharges for use may be billed and communicated to the end users. Thebilling system 3468 may also be in communication intermediate storagedevice 3450 or the end user devices 3464 through the reverse link 3460.

In the system set forth above, the use of the reverse link 3460 throughan alternative network 3458 allows the system manage and control thecontent that is ultimately provided to the intermediate storage device3450 from the content distribution network system 3430. By using thedormant capacity of the over-the-air spectrum, otherwise unused spectrumcapacity is placed into service by prepositioning content at theintermediate storage device 3450 from the content distribution networksystem 3430, the network spectrum of the over-the-air broadcasttelevision network system 3410 may be more fully used. The feedbackthrough the reverse link 3460 allows the type of content and the qualityof the communication of the digital content to be monitored. The systemoperator therefore can more fully utilize the system spectrum for whichthe television network operator has already paid.

The system also allows the latency of communication through thecommunication system 3408 to be reduced by communicating and pre-storingthe content in the intermediate storage device which is availablethrough the local link 3456. The television network operator may operatethe system and communicate content to the intermediate storage device3450. However, the system may also be used by a service provider toprovide a system that is completely separate from the television networkoperator domain 3424 using the system aspects of the broadcasttelevision network system 3410.

Referring now to FIG. 35 , the television network operator domain 3424′of the communication system 3408 includes the broadcast televisionnetwork system 3410. The dormant capacity estimator 3420, the contentdistribution network system 3430 and the intermediate storage device3450 may be outside of the television network operator domain 3424′ andin a content delivery network domain 3470. That is, the intermediatestorage device 3450, the content distribution network system 3430 andthe dormant capacity estimator 3420 may be controlled by the operator ofthe content distribution network system 3430. The content distributionnetwork domain 3470 may thus be a third party provider different thatthe operator of the television network operator domain 3424′. Thefunctionality of the various devices are the same as described above andthus will not be described in further detail.

The central content store 3442 is illustrated as part of a third partycontent provider. However, the content distribution network domain 3470may also include the central content store 3442. Multiple content storesmay also be provided which may be under the control of a third party,the television operator or the content delivery network operator.

Referring now to FIG. 36 , the over-the-air spectrum capacity 3610 isset forth. In this example, an ATSC 3.0 six MHz is provided. In thisexample, a plurality of physical layer pipes (PPLPs) allow the spectrumcapacity to be allocated to various services. In this example, aphysical layer pipe 3612 corresponds to ultra-high definition televisionbroadcast service. A second physical layer pipe 3614 corresponds to acontent distribution service 3614. A third physical layer pipe 3616corresponds to an Internet of Things content distribution service. Afourth physical layer pipe 3618 corresponds to a broadband data layerpipe. The physical layer pipes 3612-3618 correspond to a radio resourceblock as described above with respect to the cellular systems. Aphysical layer pipe is configured with specific modulation and codinglevel (MCS) that is consistent with robustness and RF conditions. Forexample, service being delivered to a device in strong RF conditions mayuse a high order of modulation, combined with a high coding rate so thatthere is less overhead assigned forward air correction. A mobile servicemay need a more robust coverage when compared to a fixed service usingvery good radio conditions. The modulation level and coding ratecombination directly influences the size of each transmission to thedevice and hence the target throughput. The combination of the size ofthe various physical layer pipes 3612-3618 dictates the throughputtargeted to the service.

The capacity reports described above that are communicated to thedormant capacity estimator are used to estimate the dormant capacity.The system can indicate the percentage of the ATSC's link capacity thatis unused and hence is available as dormant capacity that may be used bythe content distribution network system 3430. The content distributionnetwork system 3430 may also leverage the system to reserve unusedcapacity to preposition content at the intermediate storage device.

Referring now to FIG. 37 , a signal flowchart for registration ofintermediate storage device is set forth. In this example, aregistration signal 3710 is communicated through the alternative network3458 to the content distribution network system 3430. Thus, a reverselink or uplink is communicated through the alternative network 3458. Theuse of the registration request signal 3710 may be performed at aninitial startup of the intermediate storage device such as part of aninitial boot-up or a reboot. The communication of a registration requestsignal 3710 may also take place periodically as a keep alive orheartbeat mechanism. The registration request signal 3710 may include anintermediate storage device identifier that is used to uniquely identifythe intermediate storage device communicating the registration requestsignal 3710. Each intermediate storage device 3450 of the system mayinclude a unique identifier. The registration request signal may beauthenticated at the content distribution system 3430. However, anauthentication signal 3712 may be communicated from content distributionto the authentication system 3466. Various types of hashes, passwords,codes and other ways for authenticating may be used. The authenticationmay take place when an initial request is received. An authenticationsignal may be communicated to the content distribution system 3430 toenable the content distribution signal 3430 to communicate content tothe intermediate storage device 3450. A registration acknowledge signal3716 is communicated from the content distribution system 3430 throughthe broadcast network system 3410 to the intermediate storage device3450. The registration acknowledge signal 3716 acknowledges to theintermediate storage 3450 that authentication is successful. Althoughillustrated as being communicated throughout the broadcast network 3410,the registration acknowledge 3716 may be also be communicated throughthe alternative network 3458.

As mentioned above, the registration request may be periodicallycommunicated. A periodic registration signal 3718 may be communicated atvarious time intervals including regular time intervals from theintermediate storage device 3450 to the content distribution system3430. In response, the authentication system 3466 may provideauthentication to such signals. However, as mentioned above, thisprocess may be eliminated after the first registration. In step 3720, aregistration acknowledge signal may be communicated through thebroadcast network system 3410 in a similar fashion to that describedabove relative to the registration acknowledge signal 3716.

Referring now to FIG. 38 , a method of operating the system using anunicast delivery mode is set forth. In a unicast delivery mode, contentis specifically communicated to an intermediate storage device 3450.That is, the content is specifically directed or addressed to a specificintermediate storage device. Unicast delivery format is formed using adistinct delivery using dormant capacity available at the broadcastnetwork system for “downlinking” content while signal using the uplinkalternative network 3458. In step 3810, a prepositioning request signalis communicated from the content distribution system 3430 through thebroadcast network system 3410 to the intermediate storage device 3450.The prepositioning request signal 3418 provides pre-positioninginstructions to the intermediate storage device 3450 as to how, when andwhere to download the content from the content distribution system 3410.That is, the preposition request signal 3410 may include locationinstruction data that includes a uniform resource location or otheraddresses that are used to access the content. The instruction data mayinclude more content asset such as a data file or a portion of a datafile. The prepositioning request signal may additionally provide datacorresponding to the target throughput that is to be used by theintermediate storage device 3450. The content distribution networksystem 3430 may generate throughput target based upon the availabledormant capacity at the broadcast network.

In step 3418, a delivery request signal is communicated through thealternative network 3418 from the intermediate storage device 3450 tothe content distribution system 3430. The delivery request signal 3812is generated in response to the prepositioning request signal 3810. Morespecifically, the address, time and the like may be used from theprepositioning request signal 3810 to request delivery of content. AnHTTP GET request signal may be used to initiate the delivery of thecontent. The delivery request signal is communicated through the reverselink and the alternative network 3458. In step 3814, the contentdistribution system 3430, in response to the delivery request signal3812, generates a content delivery signal 3814. The content deliverysignal 3814 contains the content which is specifically addressed to theintermediate storage device 3450. That is, an address of theintermediate storage device 3450 that was communicated in the deliveryrequest or in the registration process is used. The content deliverysignal 3814 is ultimately used to deliver the entire data file orcontent to the intermediate storage device through the dormant capacityof the broadcast television network system using a dormant portion ofthe over-the-air spectrum. The delivery through the broadcast televisionnetwork system 3410 may be referred to as forward link. The movement ofthe content from the content distribution system 3430 to theintermediate storage device 3450 is a “pulling” of content because it isrequested from the intermediate storage device 3450 and thencommunicated to the intermediate storage device 3450. A content deliveryacknowledge signal 3816 is communicated from the intermediate storagedevice 3450 to the content distribution system 3430 through thealternative network 3458. Steps 3818 and 3820 repeat the contentdelivery pulling process. Steps 3818 and 3820 may provide differentcontent or other portions of the content that was originally requestedin steps 3812 and 3814.

The content delivery acknowledge signals 3816 and 3820 may providefeedback to the content distribution network system 3430. In particular,data such as the volume of data received, the download duration and theachieved throughput may all be provided to the content distributionnetwork system 3430.

After content is stored in the intermediate storage device 3450, thecontent may be consumed by the end user device 3454. One example of aconsumption process is set forth. In this example, a content list signal3830 is communicated from the intermediate storage device to the enduser device 3454. The content list signal has one or more contentidentifiers such as a title of content stored in the intermediatestorage device 3450. As mentioned above, the end user device may have acomputer application or “app” for initiating the communication betweenthe end user device 3454 and the intermediate storage device 3450. Acontent list signal 3830 is communicated between the intermediatestorage device 3450 and the end user device 3454. One the end userdevice 3454 receives the content list from the content list signal 3830,a request signal 3832 may request one or more contents to be deliveredfrom the intermediate storage device 3450. In step 3834, a contentsignal having content therein is communicated through the local link3456. Of course all the communications between the end user device 3454and the intermediate storage device 3450 may take place through thelocal link 3456. Once the content is fully delivered to the end userdevice 3454, the content may be consumed such as stored and playback. Anacknowledgement signal 3836 may be communicated from the end user device3454 to the intermediate storage device 3450. A billing signal 3840 maybe communicated to the billing system 3468 from the intermediate storagedevice 3450 once receiving of the content is acknowledged at the enduser device 3454. The billing system 3468 may then bill the user of theend user device 3454.

Referring now to FIG. 39 , a signal diagram corresponding to a methodfor broadcast delivery through the broadcast network system 3410 is setforth. As mentioned above, more than one intermediate storage 3450 maybe provided in a system. Broadcast delivery to simultaneouslycommunicate signals to multiple intermediate storage devices 3450 isprovided. Broadcast delivery modes also uses the dormant capacity of thebroadcast television network system 3410. The broadcast server 3411illustrated in FIG. 34 may be used to generate the broadcast from thecontent distribution network system 3430. In step 3910, theestablishment procedure for establishing a broadcast session is setforth. The broadcast procedure may use the factor module 3446 todetermine whether unicast or broadcast of a particular piece of contentis used. The content distribution network system 3430 may evaluate thethroughput, the quality of the radio conditions and a number ofintermediate storage devices 3450 that have a need for a particularcontent. By using broadcasting spectral efficiency games over unicastingcontent is provided because a number of intermediate storage devices3450 may consume the data signal simultaneously. Establishment data istherefore communicated within the establishment signal 3410. The amountof throughput and the identification of the broadcast is provided to theintermediate storage device 3450. A time for a broadcast may also beprovided. At the time, the intermediate storage device 3450 tunes to thebroadcast signal which is the content delivery signal 3912. The contentdelivery signal 3912 is a broadcast signal that is addressed to multipleintermediate storage devices 3450. A content delivery acknowledge signal3914 may be communicated from the intermediate storage devices 3450 tothe content distribution system through the alternative network 3458. Ofcourse, other content delivery signals 3916 may be communicated throughbroadcast television network system 3410 to the intermediate storagedevices 3450 to deliver other content or other pieces of content.Delivery acknowledge signals 3918 may also be communicated from each ofthe storage devices 3450 to indicate that the content was safelyreceived. While delivering the content, the broadcast television networksystem 3410 may pull content from the content distribution networksystem 3430 or be pushed content from the content distribution networksystem 3430. The server 3411 of FIG. 34 may control the pulling orreceive the push signals from the content distribution system 3430.

The acknowledgement signals may be one signal corresponding to a numberof pieces of content or signals sent when portions of the content arereceived. Acknowledgment signals may also consolidate a number ofcontents. The acknowledgement signals, similar to that described aboverelative to FIG. 38 , may provide other types of acknowledgement dataincluding the volume of data received, the download duration and theachieved throughput. These parameters may be used for future control ofthe communication process. In step 3920, after the last content has beendelivered, the content distribution network system 3430 may terminatethe broadcast session with the broadcast television network system 3410and ultimately the intermediate storage device is 3450.

Referring now to FIG. 40 , a method of providing data to the contentdelivery network system is set forth. It should be noted that not all ofthe steps indicated in FIG. 40 may be used for a system. The amount ofdata used depends upon various system requirements and design aspects.The steps set forth in FIG. 40 may provide data to the factor module3446 for establishing the communication of the system. In step 4010, theuser preferences are communicated to the content distribution networksystem 3430. The user preferences may be communicated from the computerapplication located within the end user device 3454. The userpreferences may be communicated through a local link 3456 to theintermediate storage device 3450 through the alternative network 3458 tothe content distribution system 3430. Alternatively, the userpreferences may be communicated directly from the end user devices 3454.A watch list in step 4012 may be communication to the contentdistribution network system 3430. The watch list may be communicated inthe same way that the user preferences are communicated. That is, thewatch list may be communicated to the content distribution networksystem 3430 through the intermediate storage device and the alternativenetwork 3458 or directly through the alternative network from the enduser device 3454.

Service provider priorities may also be communicated to the contentdistribution network system 3430. The provider of the system mayestablish different levels of priority based upon the types of content,marketing decisions or other types of decisions. The service prioritiesmay be communicated to the content delivery network system 3430 fromexternal sources.

In step 4016, the popularity level corresponding to content may also beprovided to the content distribution network system 3430. As illustratedin FIG. 34 , the popularity system 3462 communicates the popularity ofcontent to the content distribution system 3430. The popularity systemmay measure the audience popularity or may be provided popularity fromsources such as Nielson ratings or Tribune media services.

Referring now to step 4018, the radio performance of the intermediatestorage devices and the link between the intermediate storage device andthe broadcast television network system 3410 may be monitored. That is,the over-the-air link between the broadcast television network systemand the intermediate storage device may be monitored for quality andthroughput. The performance of the system may be taken intoconsideration when communicating content from the content distributionsystem 3430 which ultimately is communicated by the broadcast televisionnetwork system 3410.

The location of the intermediate storage devices used in the system arecommunicated to the content distribution network system 3430. As well,the error and user devices 3454 may also be provided to the contentdistribution network system 3430. By providing the location, the factormodule 3446 may factor in the urgency of the communication. The contentto be unicasted or broadcasted through the broadcast television networksystem 3410 is selected in step 4022. The selection of the content andthe communication perimeters may use one or more of the factors fromsteps 410-420. In step 4024, the determination of whether to broadcastor unicast content is made. This may be determined based upon thecontent selected in step 4022 and the data from steps 4010-4020.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the disclosure can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosureincludes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure shouldnot be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to theskilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification andthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: communicating first data touser devices for real time consumption by the user devices using a firstportion of an overall system capacity of a communication system during afirst time using a broadcast mode of the communication system, saidoverall system capacity comprising the first portion of a broadcasttransmission used for communicating the first data for real timeconsumption by the user devices and remnant capacity separate from thefirst portion of the broadcast transmission for non-real timeconsumption, wherein said real time consumption occurring at a same timeas when the user devices request to consume the first data;communicating the first data through the communication system to a firstdevice comprising an intermediate data storage device using the remnantcapacity of the broadcast transmission during the first time, the firstdata communicated using the remnant capacity of the broadcasttransmission for non-real time consumption with a user application;performing non-real time consumption of the first data communicatedusing the remnant capacity of the broadcast transmission for non-realtime consumption with the user application by; after communicating thefirst data using the remnant capacity, storing the first data in theintermediate data storage device of the first device; after storing thefirst data, requesting the first data, by the user application, from theintermediate data storage device, at a second time that is differentthan the first time of real time consumption; communicating the firstdata from the intermediate data storage device of the first device tothe user application after storing the first data; and in real time,receiving the first data from the intermediate data storage device andconsuming the first data at the user application.
 2. The method of claim1 wherein the remnant capacity is a residual product of the broadcasttransmission.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the overall systemcapacity comprises the broadcast mode and a unicast mode.
 4. The methodof claim 1 wherein prior to communicating first data to user devices forreal time consumption by the user devices using the first portion of theoverall system capacity during the first time, and prior tocommunicating the first data through the communication system to thefirst device comprising an intermediate data storage device using theremnant capacity of the broadcast transmission during the first time,deciding between a unicast mode and the broadcast mode for communicatingthe first data.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein deciding between theunicast mode and the broadcast mode comprises serving the first datausing the broadcast mode for real-time consumption and not using theunicast mode by determining that serving the first data using thebroadcast mode for real-time consumption by the first device and theremnant capacity for non-real-time consumption by a plurality of devicesother than the first device is more efficient than unicasting the firstdata to the first device and then at a later time unicasting the firstdata to the plurality of devices when they request the first data forfuture real-time consumption.
 6. The method of claim 4 whereindetermining that serving the first data using the remnant capacity fornon-real-time consumption by a plurality of devices other than the firstdevice is more efficient comprise determining the serving the first datais more cost effective than unicasting the first data to the firstdevice and the plurality of devices.
 7. The method of claim 4 whereindetermining that serving the first data using the remnant capacity fornon-real-time consumption by a plurality of devices other than the firstdevice is more efficient comprise determining the serving the first datais more cost effective and capacity effective than unicasting the firstdata to the first device and the plurality of devices.
 8. The method ofclaim 4 where the deciding between the unicast mode and the broadcastmode comprises determining whether a higher spectral efficiency of aunicast transmission to a single user is lower than an aggregate of alower spectral efficiency of the broadcast transmission to the singleuser, aggregated across the user devices simultaneously receiving theremnant capacity of the broadcast transmission, when at least some ofthe user devices are storing the first data for non-real-timeconsumption at a future time.
 9. The method of claim 4 where thedeciding between the unicast mode and the broadcast mode comprisesdetermining a number of likely users of the first data.
 10. The methodof claim 4 where the deciding between the unicast mode and the broadcastmode comprises determining a usage preference for the user devices. 11.The method of claim 4 where the deciding between the unicast mode andthe broadcast mode comprises determining popularity of the first data.12. The method of claim 4 where the deciding between the unicast modeand the broadcast mode comprises determining when a cost of serving afirst user device using unicast transmissions at the first time and aplurality of other users using unicast transmissions at a future time,will be greater than a second cost of using a broadcast transmission atthe first time with the first user device for real-time consumption anda plurality of other users using the remnant capacity of the broadcasttransmission at the first time for non-real-time consumption at thefuture time.
 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising determiningwhether a second user device receives data using the remnant capacity ofthe broadcast transmission and stores the data for non-real-timeconsumption based on second device parameters.
 14. The method of claim13 wherein the second device parameters comprise available storage. 15.The method of claim 13 wherein the second device parameters comprise thefirst data already stored with the device for non-real-time consumption.16. The method of claim 13 wherein the second device parameters comprisethe first data scheduled to be delivered for non-real-time consumption,a first relative cost of communicating the first data using the remnantcapacity of the broadcast mode and a second relative cost of receivingand storing the first data.
 17. The method of claim 1 whereincommunicating first data using remnant capacity comprises communicatingfirst data using an unused or under-used resource.
 18. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the intermediate data storage device is disposed at acell tower, and further comprising communicating first data from theintermediate data storage device to the first device by communicatingcontent through a wireless network originating at the cell tower. 19.The method of claim 1 wherein storing the first data in the intermediatedata storage device of the first device comprises storing the first datain the intermediate data storage device of the first device when adownload determination is made at a download determination module of theintermediate data storage device.
 20. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising determining the download determination in response to atleast one of capacity the intermediate data storage device, a userpreference, a user selection and a content stored list.